


Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Detectives Of Justice

by Nidoking



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pokemon Mystery Dungeon
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-04
Updated: 2015-12-01
Packaged: 2018-04-12 21:42:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 53,270
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4495761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nidoking/pseuds/Nidoking
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He's a human turned Charmeleon with all the courage and fighting skills of a newborn kitten. She's an overly generous Braixen with no self worth and six hungry mouths to feed. Together, they fight crime! ...And possibly stop reality from collapsing into itself. ...Maybe.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Contains casual cussing, and probably suggestive themes and all that fun stuff too.

"...This one? This is the one you want? Truly?"

"Oh yeah. I know, I know, he seems a bit more... Odd than most of them, but hey, he answered the ol' 'hand in the toilet' question more honestly than anyone else that I can remember!"

"But... 'Run screaming and develop a bladder disease due to never setting foot in a bathroom again'? Doesn't that seem... Less than ideal?"

"Nah, he won't have to worry about that, there aren't any bathrooms where he's going anyways!"

"That's... Not what I meant... But very well. You may borrow him."

"Aw yeah, and _that's_ why you're the man, you never let me down!"

"Yes, well... I just hope this one works out better for you than the last few did..."

"Please, why do you think I picked him? He's _nothing_ like any of them, and I figured, hey, they weren't working out, so I might as well try something completely different! You'll see that my logic is flawless, as usual. Anyways, gotta run, thanks again pal, I'll catch you on the flipside once this little crisis has been averted. Later!"

"...Strange as always..."

* * *

"Geez... It's getting so hard to find food around here anymore..."

Braixen muttered to herself, looking down at the small satchel of berries that was clutched firmly in her hand, and sighing wistfully at the fact that it wasn't even halfway filled. Walking down the beaten path that led out of the forest she had picked the berries in, the sun was just beginning to dip over the horizon in front of her, casting a golden glow over the landscape.

"Mmm... Such a beautiful evening." Braixen hummed quietly as she continued on her way, before frowning and sighing again. "I wish I could enjoy it, it hasn't been this nice out in forever... But I've wasted enough time as it is looking for this pathetic haul, the kids are probably starving..."

Picking up her pace a bit, Braixen continued on her way home, entranced by the big, golden sun that just barely hung in the orange and purple twilight sky.

"I just hope there's enough here to fill everyone up..." Braixen grimaced as her own stomach growled hungrily at her, snapping her back to attention. "I'm going to have to figure something out, and fast... There's so little food left around here, but I can't let the kids down. If only... No, I can't allow myself to start thinking of such delusions, I have to stay focused."

Shaking her head firmly, Braixen continued walking faster, until her stomach growled again, much louder this time, causing her to groan and stop as her shoulders slumped woefully.

"Yeah, yeah, I haven't forgotten about you..." she muttered in annoyance to her stomach. "You're just gonna have to wait, though. I'm not about to feed myself when I know the kids are all just as hungry." As she steadied her resolve and got ready to get moving again, however, Braixen caught something odd out of the corner of her eye behind some bushes a short ways away in the distance.

"Hmm? What's that?" Braixen squinted into the distance to try to identify the strange shape, but couldn't make much of anything out from where she was standing. "That's strange, I don't remember there being anything over there earlier..." Frowning, she put her hand up to her face as she began to cautiously and curiously move forward again, not taking her eyes off of whatever it was that she was looking at. As she drew closer to the object, however, her caution and curiosity quickly turned into shock and dread, as she realized that the 'object' was actually a Pokemon, and it wasn't moving at all.

"O-Oh my gosh!" Braixen gasped once she realized what it was she was looking at, and without hesitation sprinted over as fast as she could to the Pokemon, kneeling down beside it and placing her berry pouch carefully to her side as she focused all of her attention on the Pokemon that lay sprawled out before her. A Charmeleon, it was collapsed on its stomach, a grimace displayed on its unmoving face, and to Braixen's dismay, its tail was completely flameless, something that she knew meant it was either dead, or very close to it.

"N-No..." she stuttered in a panic, horrified at the fact that the Pokemon she was looking at was most likely nothing more than a corpse. The very thought sent a chill down her spine. She realized there was still a chance, however, that it wasn't, and so bracing herself, she squeamishly did her best to roll the Charmeleon over so she could see if it was still alive. Slightly relieved that the Charmeleon at least didn't have any kind of horrifying, grievous injury, she was still filled with apprehension and dread as she gently placed her hand upon its neck, praying that she would be able to feel a pulse. After a few tense seconds, she was able to breathe a massive sigh of relief as she felt a slow, weak heartbeat. Her relief was short lived, however, as she realized that there was still something very wrong with it.

"Oh no, w-what do I do, what do I do?!" Braixen cried frantically, trying desperately to figure out some course of action. She still had no idea what was wrong with it, and even if she did, she had no way to heal it or help it at all. Panicking, Braixen began to tug at her ear fur in frustration, when her eyes fell upon the Charmeleon's unlit tail. She knew that an unlit tail was a very bad sign for a Charmeleon, but she didn't know what on earth she could do about it... But suddenly, an idea popped into her head. It sounded incredibly dumb to her, even in her head, but she didn't have many options, and she realized it was probably the only shot she had at helping the poor Charmeleon.

Breathing deeply, Braixen stood up, and grabbed the small twig that she kept stuck in her big, bushy tail. "Oh... I hope this works..." she whimpered to herself, as she pointed the stick at the Charmeleon's tail. Focusing all of her attention and energy, she stared intently at the Charmeleon's tail, and after a moment of charging, she cried out, "EMBER!", sending a small burst of flame shooting out of the end of her twig, directly at the tip of the Charmeleon's tail. The Charmeleon's reaction, while immediate, was not at all what Braixen had expected.

" _YEEEEEEEOOOOWCH!_ " the Charmeleon cried in pain, regaining his consciousness and jolting awake instantly as the flame scorched the tip of his tail. Jumping to his feet, he hopped up and down as he clutched his butt, turning around and recoiling in horror at the sight of his tail on fire... Or, rather, the fact that he had a tail in the first place.

"O-Oh, god, what the hell?!" the Charmeleon exclaimed, gasping and double taking at the sight of himself. "H-Holy crap, w-why do I have a tail, why is it on fire, what the heck is going on here?!"

Braixen looked on at the Charmeleon's bizarre actions in complete bewilderment, too shocked to do anything. On one hand, she was relieved that the Charmeleon wasn't dead, but on the other hand, he actually seemed to be in pain from the fire on his tail, which didn't sound right at all... Was she not supposed to have done that? Should his tail not have been lit by an outside source? She had never heard anything regarding that, but even so, he was still a Fire type, and the fire shouldn't be hurting him much at all... Right...?

"O-Oh god, oh god, h-hot, HOT!" the Charmeleon cried, running around like a headless chicken and hopping from one foot to the other in a panic as he stared in alarm at his tail. Looking around him in a fervor, he was dismayed to see no water anywhere, and having no other idea of what to do, he clumsily grasped onto his tail as best as he could with both hands and began to try to blow the fire out with his breath as if it were a birthday candle. Unfortunately, instead of blowing the flame out, a short, steady stream of fire came spewing out of his mouth instead of air, much to the Charmeleon's utter horror.

"GAAAH! JESUS!" the Charmeleon's eyes bulged out in fright at the unexpected sight of what had just come out of his mouth. "W-W-WHAT IS THIS?!" His mind racing and his heart beating a mile a minute, the Charmeleon's eyes darted around wildly, the look of fear and confusion in them clearly evident to Braixen as they suddenly focused on her, causing her to elicit a small gasp in realization that she had just been standing there watching the entire time. For a brief moment, neither of them did anything besides stare at one another in wide eyed shock, both of them unable to speak up; Braixen due to the sheer weirdness of the entire situation, the Charmeleon because he couldn't so much as think straight, let alone form a coherent sentence. Realizing he was still on fire, the Charmeleon finally began stammering incoherently at Braixen as he began hopping from foot to foot again and pointing at his tail with both hands.

"W-W-W-What is this, w-why am I on fire?! WHY DO I HAVE A TAIL?!" As Braixen instinctively backed up slightly from his seeming display of madness, the Charmeleon let out a groan of futility. "Gah, and why am I trying to talk to a Pokemon?!"

"...W-What?" Braixen said, more confused than ever at the Charmeleon's ramblings. "...Y-You're a Pokemon too, what are you-"

"Oh god, of course, talking Pokemon, this is _DEFINITELY_ some kind of insane dream!" the Charmeleon cried out, shaking his head and cackling madly. "And wait, wait, wait wait wait wait wait, what did you just say? You... You did just say something, right? I wasn't hallucinating that too, was I?"

Backing up even further from the Charmeleon, Braixen clutched her twig, just in case, as she tried her best to communicate with him. "...I... I don't...Y-You're a Charmeleon, you're a Pokemon just like me, why are you acting like you've never seen another Pokemon talk...?"

The Charmeleon's face contorted into a strange expression that Braixen couldn't even begin to decipher, before it slumped into a much more recognizable one of distress. "...B-Because, I HAVEN'T ever seen a talking Pokemon! At least, not in real life, not in person, anyways! I mean... Wait, no, that's not even... That's... _**I'M NOT A CHARMELEON**_!" the Charmeleon whined in dismay, clutching the sides of his head and shaking it back and forth violently. "I'm not a Pokemon at all! I'm a friggin' human! This... This isn't right...! This is some kind of messed up dream, it has to be!"

Braixen could do little more than stare back in a slack jawed stupor at the Charmeleon and his claims. She had NEVER come across a Pokemon who had thought they were a human before... She knew more and more Pokemon were going nuts and stuff lately, attacking other Pokemon and whatnot, but this was an entirely different kind of crazy... Still, he didn't seem to be dangerous, at least, not intentionally, and she couldn't imagine why anyone would lie about something so ridiculous for, so she decided to at least humor him and try to help him calm down before he really did end up hurting himself or someone else. Taking a deep breath and collecting her thoughts as best she could, Braixen placed her twig back in her tail and tried her hardest to speak as calmly as possible.

"U-Um... That... Y-You're not joking, are you?" she asked, to which the Charmeleon wailed a plaintive and emphatic 'no'. Braixen let out a sigh as her ears drooped, and she put her hand to her mouth. "Oh geez... I... I don't know how to respond to that... I mean, it's not that I don't believe you or anything, but... Well, honestly, I've never heard of ANYONE claiming they were a human before... I didn't even know there WERE any humans around here..."

"...Oh god... I'm... I'm not dreaming, am I...?" the Charmeleon uttered after a moment of horrified silence. Braixen could do little more than shrug her shoulders and shake her head, and the Charmeleon sighed heavily in response. "...Oh man... This is... I'm so confused... I'm... S-S-STILL ON FIRE!" As the Charmeleon caught sight of his tail again, he quickly went into another panicked fervor, much to Braixen's exasperation.

"W-Wait, stop, c-calm down!" she pleaded, trying to get the Charmeleon's attention, to no avail. "Y-You're a Charmeleon, your tail is SUPPOSED to be on-"

Before Braixen had time to finish her sentence, however, the Charmeleon had grabbed a hold of his tail once more, and promptly stuck it in his mouth, which was such a ridiculous sight that Braixen had to turn her head and put her hand over her mouth to keep from unintentionally laughing. Realizing instantly that this was no laughing matter, however, Braixen gasped and rushed forward towards the Charmeleon. "S-STOP!" she cried, hastily grabbing the Charmeleon's tail and yanking it out of his mouth, causing him to stumble and fall over. She was too late however, as the fire on his tail was no longer burning, having been put out by his own saliva.

Gasping, she fumbled to grab ahold of her twig again so she could try to relight his tail. "Y-YOU IDIOT!" she cried, as she finally got a firm grip on her twig and pointed it back at his tail. "You're gonna die if that goes out!"

Before she had a chance to use Ember again, however, the Charmeleon had scrambled back to his feet, looking none the worse for wear other than the still panicked expression on his face. "No, stop!" he shouted, shaking his head frantically as he stuck and hid his tail behind him before Braixen could reignite it. "I told you, I'm not a Charmeleon, I don't... I don't WANT any part of my body to be on fire, I don't want to be a walking fire hazard! I mean, look, I'm fine, see? I'm not dying, that crap's just an old wive's tale!"

Braixen stared back at the Charmeleon firmly, not particularly convinced that he knew what he was talking about. He stood staunch in his position, however, hiding his tail from her reach, and she eventually conceded, letting out an annoyed sigh as she put her twig back away. "...Fine, if you say so..." she muttered, shaking her head and folding her arms at him, as he grinned sheepishly back at her. "Just don't blame me if you suddenly drop dead without warning."

"Well, if I do, I doubt I'll have the chance to, so..." the Charmeleon said with a wry smirk.

Braixen merely rolled her eyes in response. "Well, at least you seem to have settled down a little. You were really starting to freak me out there for a while..."

"Er, sorry about that..." the Charmeleon apologized, chuckling lightly and scratching the back of his head. "I uh, well, I still don't know what in the world is going on... But um, I get the feeling I should be thanking you right now, so uh, thanks!"

"No need to thank me." Braixen said, shaking her head lightly. "All I did was find you laying there and then set your tail ablaze because I thought you were dying, so if anything, you should be upset at me for setting you on fire."

"Oh..." the Charmeleon muttered, furrowing his brow and folding his arms for a moment, before quickly shrugging his shoulders and grinning. "Heck, if that's the case, then I should be thanking you anyways, because who knows, I probably WOULD'VE died if you hadn't, so thanks! Again!"

Braixen raised her eyebrow in confusion at the Charmeleon's statement. "...I don't get you. First you say you don't need your tail fire to survive, now you're thanking me for setting it on fire in the first place because you probably would have died without it?"

"Well, yeah, pretty much." the Charmeleon said, nodding in confirmation. "I don't remember ANYTHING before you did that, so chances are I really was dying, but you setting me on fire gave me some sort of 'jump start', or something like that."

"...You're a very strange individual." Braixen stated after a moment, a slight, bemused smile appearing on her lips as she shook her head.

The Charmeleon laughed. "Well, you're not the first person to tell me that. Er, that is... Well, I guess technically you're the first _Pokemon_ to tell me that... God, this is all so weird..."

As the Charmeleon stared down at his own body in disbelief, Braixen frowned. "So, you really, truly, honestly believe you're a human? Are you sure you didn't just conk your head really hard or something?"

"No, I swear, I'm a human... Or at least, I was..." the Charmeleon said, letting out a confused sigh as his head and shoulders drooped. "I realize I probably sound completely out of my mind to you, but um, well, I assure you, this is just as weird for me!"

"I uh, can imagine..." Braixen muttered, nodding in understanding. "...Well, regardless, I can't begin to fathom why you would bother lying about something so bizarre, so I suppose you must be telling the truth. Or at least, you believe you are."

"Well, personally, I'd find it stranger to meet a Pokemon who thought he was a human but really WAS a Pokemon, but..." the Charmeleon trailed off quietly.

"...I suppose so." Braixen said with a nod, though a frown still resided on her face. She quickly shook it off and replaced it with a friendly look. "But um, regardless, you're welcome, I guess... Oh, right, I should probably introduce myself. My name is... Well, Braixen, as I'm sure you've already figured out."

"Huh?" the Charmeleon cocked his head momentarily before a look of realization came over him. "Ah, I guess Pokemon don't really give each other names, right? That... Must be pretty confusing. But uh, my name is Wilco... I think. Pretty sure it's Wilco, at least. Though, honestly, just Wil is fine, Wilco is kinda... Dumb."

"Oh, right, you humans like to give each other silly little names like that." Braixen said with a small giggle. "It must be difficult to remember so many different names... But then again, I suppose it'd be pretty silly if you all just called each other 'Human', huh?"

"Yeah, that'd be pretty weird." Wil agreed with a chuckle. "I never thought about it like that before."

"Ha, neither did I. Now I'm going to start feeling self-conscious about everyone just calling each other by their species' name." Braixen said in slight bemusement. "I mean, it's not like there aren't any Pokemon with 'given' names, it's just pretty rare."

Wil shrugged. "Well, if you don't want to call me 'Wil', that's fine. You can call me 'Charmeleon', or 'Char', or whatever floats your boat, it doesn't matter to me. Er, besides Wilco, that is, that name is terrible."

"Ah, no, it's fine, Wil is a nice name... If a little strange." Braixen said with another small giggle. "Besides, I already know a 'Char', or at least, I used to..." Wil frowned as Braixen's voice trailed off and her expression doured, but she quickly shook herself out of it and smiled. "Um, regardless, it's nice to meet you, Wil."

"Uh, y-yeah, likewise." Wil responded, smiling and bowing back.

The happy mood was not to last, however, as a thought crossed Braixen's mind, causing her to frown. "Um, wait, you said you don't know how you got here?"

"Nope, I don't even know where 'here' is." Wil replied. "Course, that's probably to be expected, what with the whole 'suddenly a Pokemon' thing and all."

"R-Right..." Braixen muttered, putting her hand to her mouth and thinking for a moment, before sighing and opening her eyes. "...Listen, you... You have no idea what to do, do you?"

Wil frowned in realization and whimpered. "Oh, uh, w-well... Crap, yeah, I... I hadn't even thought about that... I have no idea what I'm supposed to do now, I've never been a Pokemon before..." Groaning, Wil slapped himself in the face. "Okay, that was a horrible, stupid sentence, pretend I didn't just say that. What I meant is, I don't... I don't know what Pokemon actually DO when they're not living with humans. I'm... Not used to roughing it in the wild..."

"...I figured as much..." Braixen said with a sigh. "...Well, if you want, you can stay with me, at least for a little while."

"Oh, n-no, I couldn't impose." Wil said, shaking his head firmly. "I mean, you barely know me, and I have no way of paying you or anything..."

Braixen shook her head and smiled. "It's quite alright, I know what it's like to not have a home, and I wouldn't wish it on anyone else, let alone someone in a situation like yours. Besides, you wouldn't be the first Pokemon to come into my home... And I don't want or need any compensation, I just don't want anyone to be without a safe place to live, especially in times like these."

"...Gosh, that's... That's really kind of you..." Wil said, nearly speechless at Braixen's act of generosity. "...I... W-Well, it's an incredibly nice and wonderful offer, but are you sure I wouldn't be a bother...?"

"Of course not, it'd actually be nice to have someone else my age around for once, usually the only people I come in contact with every day are my children." Braixen explained with a reassuring smile.

"Children?" Wil repeated, raising his eyebrow slightly. "You uh, have kids...?"

"O-Oh, n-no, not like that..." Braixen said quickly, shaking her head in embarrassment. "They're... Well, it's a bit much to explain right now, but no, they're not technically 'my' children, they're all orphans who have nowhere else to go, I just do my best to raise them as well as I can."

"W-What? All by yourself?" Wil said in astonishment.

"Well, yeah, I don't really have any close friends or family left, and they can't fend for themselves, since they're only kids." Braixen explained with a shrug. "I can tell you more later if you really want, but basically, just think of it as an orphanage, only nobody ever comes around to adopt anyone since most people can hardly take care of themselves anymore, let alone a child."

"Oh wow, that's... That's awesome, Braixen..." Wil said in genuine admiration. "...Um, gosh, I guess if you really don't mind, I'll stay with you, at least until I can figure out what the hell is going on... But you have to let me help you with stuff, I don't want to be a freeloader or anything like that."

"Oh, well, if you insist." Braixen shrugged. "I suppose it would be sorta nice not to have to do everything by myself... Uh, that is, if you don't mind helping me with the children, since they're pretty much all I do anything for in the first place."

"Of course." Wil nodded eagerly, happy to help Braixen out. "I'll try my best, at the very least."

"Don't worry, they're some of the nicest kids you'll ever meet." Braixen smiled. "And really, they're all pretty smart, too, so most of what I mean by 'help with the kids' is really just helping me feed them and keeping them happy." As she glanced up at the sky, Braixen put her hand to her cheek and gasped. "Oh geez, speaking of which, I need to get home on the double, they're probably starving and worried sick about me, I should have been home an hour ago!"

"O-Oh, s-sorry for taking up so much of your time..." Wil stuttered apologetically as he realized he was likely the main cause for her lateness.

"Oh, no, you don't need to apologize, I wasted most of my time just trying to find food, really." Braixen said gloomily as she began to make her way over to where she had set her berry pouch. "It's... Well, I'll tell you more about it when we get home, but right now, I... U-Uh..."

"Is something the matter?" Wil asked once he noticed Braixen was suddenly searching around everywhere for something in a panic.

"U-Um, th-there should be a small pouch around here somewhere, it's where I put the berries I picked for supper in..." Braixen explained nervously, as she began to search more and more frantically, unable to find the pouch anywhere. "O-Oh no, how did... Where did it go?! It was right here, I know I set it down right here!"

"O-Oh crap..." Wil stuttered in alarm at the news, quickly joining Braixen in her search.

"I-I can't lose those berries, those were all I had for supper for the kids!" Braixen cried in distress, tears beginning to form in her eyes. "They'll all starve without them!"

"Oh geez, that's... Not good." Wil muttered under his breath as he began to panic a bit as well, not seeing anything resembling a pouch anywhere. Suddenly, however, he caught sight of something moving out of the corner of his eye, and turned around just in time to see two shady figures dart out of a nearby bush and disappear into the treeline a short ways away behind him and Braixen, one of them carrying something in their hand, which immediately set off a red flag in Wil's mind. "H-Hey, Braixen..."

"H-Huh?" Braixen stuttered, sniffling as she turned her attention to where Wil was staring. "W-What is it?"

"What exactly did your pouch look like...?" Wil asked slowly, a bad feeling beginning to come over him.

"U-Um, it's just a small, yellow sack with a drawstring on top..." Braixen explained, looking hopefully in the direction Wil was looking. "W-Why, do you see it over there?!"

"Crap, follow me!" Wil said suddenly, breaking off into a sprint towards the spot in the treeline that the figures had disappeared into.

"H-Huh?!" Braixen cried in confusion as she hastily stumbled after Wil. "W-What are you-"

"I just saw two Pokemon disappear into the forest here, and one of them was carrying something!" Wil explained, pointing at the spot in the treeline as Braixen quickly caught up with him. "Something small and yellow!"

"W-What?!" Braixen cried in shock. "Oh no, no, this can't be happening!"

"Come on, we can still catch up with them, they can't have gotten very far at all!" Wil shouted, beckoning for Braixen to follow him as he too disappeared into the forest before she had any say in the matter. Having little choice at that point, follow him she did, and once she made her way into the thick, heavy forest, she and Wil began scanning the immediate area for any signs of movement, which was actually pretty difficult since it was nearly pitch black in the forest.

"Ah, hold on!" Braixen said, hastily grabbing her twig and holding it aloft. "FLASH!" she shouted, causing a bright, blinding light to start shining from the end of it, illuminating the area around them in a flourish. "Do you see anything?!"

Wil rubbed his eyes gingerly, before blinking to try and regain his eyesight after the sudden flash of light caught him by surprise. "No, not really..." he muttered, squinting and surveying the area as far as he could see once his vision came back, gasping and pointing as he caught a glimpse of the figures he saw earlier further ahead. "Wait, I see them, there!" he whispered to Braixen, trying not to alert the thieves as he pointed at them and began making his way towards them through the thick forest of trees and vegetation. Unfortunately, the flash of light seemed to have done just that, and they quickly disappeared further into the forest out of the light source's range. "CRAP!" Wil shouted in frustration, balling his fists up angrily. "GET BACK HERE YOU-"

"Wil, w-wait!" Braixen cried after him, grabbing his shoulder with her free hand to stop him as he got ready to rush after the two thieves.

"Huh? What is it?" Wil asked impatiently, glancing back and forth between Braixen and the direction the thieves went. "We've gotta catch those guys before we lose track of them!"

"I-I know, but there are a lot of dangerous Pokemon living in this forest, not to mention the thieves themselves probably won't go down without a fight!" Braixen exclaimed, giving Wil a worried look. "I mean, I can fend for myself well enough, but you've never had to physically fight Pokemon before, I can't imagine. I don't want you getting yourself hurt on account of me!"

Wil frowned, realizing what Braixen said was more likely than not true. He certainly had no prior first-hand fighting experience, and he hadn't even so much as gotten time to get used to his new form. Suddenly, the full realization of the situation he was in dawned on Wil, and he was scared. Very, very scared. As he looked back at Braixen's worried face, however, he knew now wasn't the time to be a coward. Braixen and her children needed those berries, and he wasn't about to leave her hanging. And so, despite the overwhelming feeling of dread that was forming in his gut, Wil pushed all of his mounting fear to the back of his mind as best he could and put on a brave face, hoping Braixen wouldn't be able to see through it and realize just how terrified he was.

"Aw, don't worry about me Braixen, I'll be fine. I've been in a scrap or two, I can handle myself." he lied with a grin, nodding just a bit too enthusiastically. "I may not be used to this body, but it can't possibly be THAT hard to figure out how to... Uh, do things with it... B-Besides, I'm not about to let those scumbags get away with your berries, and I'm sure as hell not gonna let you go after them by yourself! Now come on, let's go give those turdburglers a thumpin'!"

"Wil..." Braixen began in concern, clearly not buying Wil's confident act at all due to how nervous and fidgety he had suddenly become. "Please, I don't want you getting hurt. I can tell you're scared out of your wits, and I would probably be too if I was in your situation, so please, don't feel that you need to help me, I'll be fine. You've helped me plenty enough just by spotting those thugs, I can handle the rest perfectly well on my own."

"B-But..." Wil stuttered, shaking his head vehemently at Braixen's suggestion. "I... F-Fine, you're right, I'm scared as hell right now, I doubt I've ever been in a fight my entire life, and it's dark and creepy and just horrible in this forest... But I can't let you go after those guys by yourself, it's my fault you set your berries down and got distracted from them in the first place! And besides, I don't care if you say you'll be fine, two on one is not a fair fight, and who's to say they don't have more friends lurking around here? I may be scared, but I'm not helpless, and I'm not gonna let you go after them by yourself!"

"Oh... Alright, thank you..." Braixen quietly murmured, shooting Wil a slightly annoyed, but still very appreciative look. "You're more stubborn than the kids..."

Wil grinned. "Hey, I won't deny it. But uh, let's get to bookin' it before my mind decides to change itself against my will, alright?"

"Right." Braixen nodded. "Let's not waste any more time then, after them! Um, do you mind leading, though? I have to concentrate most of my focus to keep the light going, but if any aggressive Pokemon jump out, I'll still have your back, alright?"

"Right, you can count on me!" Wil said with a thumbs up, and as the two nodded in confirmation to each other, they took off as quickly as they could through the confusing, tangled underbrush of the forest in the direction the thieves had taken off in. Pretty soon, however, the duo reached a much clearer, though still narrow pathway, and they were able to move much faster. The pathway was still very cramped and mazelike, however, and soon enough, the single path lead into a sprawling, roomlike clearing with multiple other paths branching in several different directions.

"Crap!" Wil said in a panic, as his eyes darted frantically from one pathway to the next around the 'room' for any sign of the thieves. "...Argh!" he yelled in frustration as his search turned up fruitless. "Now what do we do?!"

"U-Um, just a moment..." Braixen said, trying her best to maintain some semblance of calmness, though it was clearly taking her a great deal of effort to do so. Taking a deep breath, then closing her eyes, Braixen put her finger to her lips to alert Wil to stay silent for a moment, and her large ears began to twitch ever so slightly as she focused much of her attention to using her keen listening capabilities to try and pinpoint anything that sounded out of place coming from any particular direction. After a few moments of listening in silence to the restless sounds of the forest, Braixen's eyes suddenly shot open, and she pointed confidently to the pathway that was to the northwest of them. "That way, I can hear their footsteps running away from here!"

"Holy cow, really?!" Wil exclaimed in awe of Braixen's abilities. "That's awesome!"

"It's nothing, honestly." Braixen stated modestly. "All Braixen have super acute hearing, it's generally more annoying than helpful most of the time when it kicks in involuntarily... But um, can we talk about this later? They're still getting away!"

"O-Oh, r-right..." Wil stuttered in embarrassment, quickly shaking himself out of it and pointing at the correct pathway in a 'charge' motion. "Let's get 'em!"

Without any further discussion, the two rushed forward and down the path that Braixen had pointed out. Following the path, they came upon another 'room' with multiple branching paths, but this time Braixen was prepared and immediately tuned into her hearing senses, finding the correct path in an instant.

"Their footsteps are getting closer, we're gaining on them!" Braixen proclaimed confidently as the duo continued to make haste down the correct path.

"That's... Good...!" Wil wheezed, his breathing much heavier and more labored than Braixen's. "Because I'm starting... To run... Out of breath...!"

Nevertheless, Wil continued running as quickly as his feet would carry him, Braixen following right behind him, and finally, after passing another room where Braixen pointed out the correct path, they came to a dead end clearing, Troublingly, however, the thieves seemed to be nowhere in sight.

"W-What the heck...?!" Wil panted, as he bent over momentarily to catch his breath, alarmed that the thieves seemed to have vanished. "W-Where did they go?! They couldn't have gotten away, I could hear their footsteps, and there's nowhere for them to have run, the treeline here is way too thick for either of them to have squeezed through!"

"I'm really surprised we didn't run into any aggressive Pokemon on the way here... This place is usually teeming with them..." Braixen murmured to herself, frowning at how strange it seemed to her. As she looked ahead, however, something caught her eye that made her gasp. "A-Ah, the berries!" she cried out, pointing to the small, yellow pouch that was now laying conspicuously out in the open at the end of the clearing, and before Wil had a chance to say anything, Braixen began to dart towards the pouch at breakneck speed.

"B-Braixen, WAIT!" Wil cried out with a gasp as he stumbled after the fox in an unsuccessful attempt to stop her. "It's gotta be a tra-" But before Wil could finish his sentence, Braixen had reached the pouch, and as she bent over to grab it, she was suddenly and violently yanked away by a vine that was sprawled out in front of the pouch which Braixen had merely assumed to be part of the forest.

" _ **YAAAAAAAAAAAH!**_ " Braixen screamed in terrified shock as she was pulled into the air by her foot, her branch falling to the forest floor where its light was extinguished instantly, causing the forest to become almost pitch black once again.

"BRAIXEN!" Wil cried in horror as he watched his companion disappear into the murky darkness, being just a step too late to reach her in time.

"W-WIL!" Braixen cried out from the darkness, as she dangled helplessly from who knows where, she herself unable to see anything as she felt another vine wrap itself around her other foot as she was lifted even further off the ground and into the treetops above. "H-HELP!"

"G-Gah, h-hold on Braixen!" Wil shouted frantically, as he rushed forward to where Braixen had last been, desperately staring and squinting up into the darkness looking for any sign of Braixen. Unable to see anything at all, Wil cursed and kicked the ground in frustration and panic. "DAMN IT! SHOW YOURSELVES, YOU COWARDS!" he snarled, shaking his fist in anger as he glanced all around him for any sign of the perpetrators. All too suddenly, however, Wil realized he was now alone in the dark, and all of that fear he was trying his best to ignore came rushing back to the front of his mind.

"Mweheheheheheheheheh..." A sudden, creepy laughter began to echo all around Wil, causing him to frantically dart his attention to and fro in wide-eyed terror as he attempted to pinpoint where it was coming from. Soon after, however, a sinister, disturbing voice began to emanate from the treetops above him. "...Yessssss, the boss will be very pleased with this haul... Verrrrrrrry pleased indeeeeeeed... And I'm sure he'll be EXTRA pleased with thissssss one... Oh, yessssss... So firm and teeeeender... So young and rrrrrrripe... Just how the boss likesssssss it... Mweheheheheheheheheheh... Exccccccellent job, you two..."

"Heh, you expected any less?"

Wil shot his attention in front of him where the berry pouch still lay, where he could just barely make out the eerily murky silhouettes of the two thieves, one of whom sneered smugly in response to the first voice's praise. "It was like taking candy from a baby! And then using said candy to lure said babies into our cunning trap! All according to our master plan, of course!"

"Uh, but Nuz, weren't we just tryin' to take their stuff?" the other thief said ponderously. "I mean, if them chasin' after us was part of the plan, do ya think you could tell me next time? 'Cuz it's a lot easier lurin' people than it is bein' chased by 'em..."

"Gah, shut up, you numbskull!" the first thief chastised, smacking his compatriot upside the head in annoyance.

"Hmmmmm, I figured as much..." came the voice from above in response to the thieves' claims. "Leave it to you two to get caught doing the one thing you're sssssssssssupposedly 'good' at..." As the thieves grumbled in frustration, the voice let out another creepy laugh. "...But neverthelesssssss, you finally managed to sssssssssteal something of worth, and you managed to bring in sssssssomething far more valuable in the processssss... Let's just chalk this up as one of life's... 'Happy accidents'... Mweheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheh..."

"Uh, yeah, whatever..." the first thief grumbled, not sounding particularly pleased at his superior's assessment of the situation. "So, uh, what do you want us to do with the other one? I doubt the boss'll want anything to do with him..."

Wil gulped hard, as he felt all the eyes in the 'room' suddenly turn to him. Completely terrified at this point, he nonetheless was somehow able to keep enough of his wits about him to realize he couldn't let them see he was so scared if he wanted to have any chance of saving Braixen and her berries, and so he went into overdrive with his false bravado.

"H-Hey, s-screw you assholes, I'm d-d-done listening to you talk!" he interjected angrily, trying and failing miserably to sound intimidating. He looked up in the direction that the leader's voice from above was coming from and shouted. "Braixen, are you alright?!"

"MMNGMMNPH!" was the muffled reply Wil got in response, as Braixen struggled desperately in vain to break free of the vines that now constricted all four of her limbs and mouth.

"Ahhhh, I'm affffraid your friend is a little... Tied up at the moment..." the voice said with a disturbing amount of glee. "Sssssssso sorry, but I don't think you'll be ssssssseeing her again... Or much of anything elssssse, for that matter..."

Whimpering, Wil shook his head rapidly at himself, trying to ignore the mounting fear and replace it with anger. "You... You bastards!" he snarled in rage, balling up his fists. "Hold on, Braixen, I'll... I'll think of something!"

"Mweheheheheh, fat chanccccccce of that, fool..." the voice from above sneered, causing his two underlings to begin to guffaw obnoxiously along with him. "I'd like to sssssssssee you try to do anything in this darknesssssssssss... I'm afraid your pathetic eyeballs are not as accusssssssstomed to it as ours are... Mweheheheheheheheheheh!"

"Gah..." Wil muttered, realizing the voice was right. He could hardly see his hand in front of his face, there was no way he'd be able to fight anyone in such darkness. "Hhhhhngh..." As he seethed in anger, trying desperately to think of a plan and fast, his nostrils began to flare - quite literally, in fact - as small flames shot out of them, illuminating the area in front of his face ever so slightly. "W-Wah!" he uttered in shock, not expecting to see actual flames shooting out of his nostrils. Suddenly, however, a moment of realization came over him, as he remembered he could breathe fire now that he was a Charmeleon, and he could use that fire to light up the area around him, at least enough for him to see what he was up against.

Gaining a little bit of confidence, Wil grinned and shouted triumphantly for all to hear. "H-HA, AND WHO SAYS I CAN'T SEE ANYTHING?" As Wil stood there grinning to himself, the smile quickly melted away from his face once he realized he didn't actually have any way of keeping his flame going without constantly exhaling. There was nothing he had on hand that could hold a steady flame for him, and he groaned inwardly once it dawned on him.

"...Ha, what sssssssssort of gamesssssssss are you playing, fool?" the voice from above spat, chortling smugly at Wil once again along with his flunkies. "You think you can fffffffffool us with mere wordssssssssss?"

"Heh, you want we should just teach him a lesson already, boss?" one of the two voices on the ground asked.

"Yesssssss, teach this fool a lesson he won't ever fffffffffffforget!" the voice from above replied with sick enthusiasm.

"Oh yeah, DIS is gonna be fun!" the voice from below said with the same disturbing glee. "C'mon, Lomb, let's get 'im!"

Wil started to panic as he saw the two shadowy figures begin to make their way towards him. Darting his head back and forth, he searched desperately for anything within arm's length that he could use to hold his flame, but couldn't see anything in the near total darkness... Except... "...Oh, man..." Wil whimpered to himself, wincing as he realized he did indeed have something that he could use to hold his flame... His tail. With no time to be apprehensive about it, he braced himself, grabbed his tail, and blew on the tip of it, setting it ablaze with no effort at all. And just in time, too, as the light from his tail gave Wil just barely enough time to see and react to the two Pokemon who were getting ready to bumrush him, managing to sidestep out of the way just before they reached him, and causing the two of them to lose their balance and go crashing to the forest floor.

"G-Gah, what the-?!" one of the two Pokemon, which Wil could now identify as a Nuzleaf, cried out in shock as he scrambled to get back to his feet.

"W-What just happened, Nuz?!" the other Pokemon, a Lombre, asked dopily to his partner, rubbing his head in pain.

"You tripped me, you dolt!" the Nuzleaf said angrily, smacking the Lombre upside the head in annoyance.

"Yow! B-But Nuz, I didn't-" the Lombre began to plead, which only earned him another smack from the Nuzleaf.

"Shut your mouth and get him!" the Nuzleaf snarled, pointing and rushing at Wil once again.

"W-Wah!" Wil cried, just narrowly managing to dodge the Nuzleaf once more, causing him to lose his balance and fall flat on his face for a second time.

"Gah, why you-" the Lombre began, as he too rushed towards Wil. He, however, was much slower, and Wil easily managed to avoid him, causing the Lombre to careen directly into the Nuzleaf as he was getting up, knocking them both back down.

"You foolsssssssssssss, what is going on down there?!" came the voice from above, not pleased at all by the sounds he was hearing.

"Your boys are kicking their own asses, that's what!" Wil responded with a smug laugh, the adrenaline having taken over, causing him to ignore the fact that his heart was pounding out of his chest. Peering up towards the location of the voice, he still couldn't make anything out, and he cursed inwardly to himself at the fact. "Why don't you come down here and join them, you creep?"

"Hhhhhhhhhhhhhh..." the voice seethed, breathing through his teeth in utter annoyance. "...You foolssssssssss, get it together! There are two of you and only one of hiiiiiiiiiiiim! Thissssssssss shouldn't be so hard for you!"

"B-But, boss, we're not-" the Lombre began, immediately getting cut off by the voice from above.

"IMBECCCCCCCCILES!" the voice spat. "Hurrrrrrry it up, you know how the boss HATESSSSSSSSS waiting!" Scowling, the voice shook his head in disgust... Then sniffed the air curiously, as some sort of smoke was beginning to billow around his head. "...That'sssssssss funny... What could be sssssssmoking all the way up here...?" The voice immediately got his answer, as an intense burning sensation began to course through his body, the vine tentacles that he had been using to bind Braixen getting scorched by an incredible burst of heat that shot from Braixen's ears, a place that the voice hadn't at all expected her to be able to shoot flames from. "GWAAAAAAARGH!" The voice cried in pain, recoiling his vine tentacles by reflex, loosening them just enough for Braixen to wriggle and worm her way out from them. Unfortunately, this meant she was now plummeting towards the ground with no way to stop herself.

" _Y_ _AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!_ " she screamed in peril, putting her hands over her eyes instinctively, even though she couldn't see anything regardless. " _THISWASABADIDEAAAAAAAAAAA!_ "

"BRAIXEN?!" Wil cried, startled by the sound of her sudden scream of terror. Instinctively, he made a mad dash in the direction of her scream, squinting and staring up into the pitch black canopy of treetops in hopes of seeing her. Wil finally caught sight of her as she fell into the range of his flame's light, and he lunged and dove forward with all his might to catch her before she smashed into the ground.

Fortunately, he managed to reach her just in time.

Unfortunately, he didn't really catch her so much as he broke her fall, as while she landed relatively safely, it was directly on top of him rather than in his arms as he had hoped for.

"...Owowow..." Braixen winced as she rubbed her backside painfully, it having caught the brunt of her fall. She soon realized that she hadn't landed on the ground, as whatever she HAD landed on was much too lumpy... And squishy. Glancing downwards, she gasped in shock and immediately jumped to her feet once she saw her 'landing pad'. "Oh my gosh, Wil! Are you okay?!"

"...Nnrgh..." Wil groaned in pain, his whole body numb from having become an involuntary cushion. Weakly, he gave Braixen a thumbs up, before his arm quickly went numb again and slumped to the ground.

"Oh, no!" Braixen cried, mortified at the state Wil was in. "C-Can you move, Wil?!"

"...Probably..." Wil muttered, as he struggled to push himself back to his feet, Braixen immediately coming over to help him up. "...Ow... I don't really want to, though..."

"Oh, Wil..." Braixen said in relief, before suddenly realizing Wil's tail was on fire. "A-Ah, your tail, it's...!"

"...Yeah, I know..." Wil muttered, shaking his head in chagrin. "It was an emergency... I couldn't see crap. It's going right back out as soon as we get somewhere with light, don't worry."

"Wil..." Braixen shook her head in response, unable to keep herself from smiling in amusement at the look of utter disdain that Wil gave his tail, finding it incredibly silly. "...Well, thank you for, er, 'catching me', ehehe..."

"Yeah, uh... D-Don't mention it..." Wil stuttered in slight embarrassment, grinning and chuckling dryly. "...No seriously, don't. I don't want to be reminded of it, it was... Painful."

Giggling at Wil's goofiness, Braixen soon remembered the predicament they were in, and gasped in realization that she had dropped her branch. "Ah, that's right, my stick! I must have dropped it when that creep grabbed me..."

"Oh geez..." Wil muttered, trying and failing to spot it anywhere within the small circle of light that was available. "How are we gonna find it like this?"

"Well, I suppose I don't really 'need' it..." Braixen said, shaking her head slowly as she took a deep breath. "I can still use most of my regular attacks, I just can't concentrate them as well... But from the sounds of it, we're not dealing with too big of a threat down here anyways, are we?"

"Hey, I heard that, you fleabag!"

All of a sudden, the Nuzleaf sprang from the spot he had last crashed into, catching Wil and Braixen by surprise. However, the Nuzleaf's little quip gave the two enough of a warning to simply duck out of his way, sending him careening through the air once more, landing in the darkness with another thud.

"...No, not really." Wil replied flatly. "It's a Nuzleaf and a Lombre, and both of them seem to be even clumsier than I am."

The Nuzleaf growled in the distance. "Gah, you gonna just sit there and take these insults, Lom?!"

"Duh, no, I'm standin' up, Nuz." the Lombre replied obliviously.

"You idiot!" the Nuzleaf barked, another angry growl permeating from within him. "Give 'em both a taste of your Water Gun attack, and get that jackass' tail fire put out while you're at it, they won't be able to see squat without it!"

"Right, good idea!" the Lombre said in agreement, turning his attention to Wil and Braixen.

"Pfft, like a little water is gonna hurt." Wil said, rolling his eyes and smirking at the so-called threat.

"Um... Wil..." Braixen whispered, nudging him in the shoulder urgently. "You're a Charmeleon, water DOES hurt... Usually a lot."

Wil's bravado quickly faded. "...Oh... Crap."

Taking advantage of his distraction, the Nuzleaf quickly snuck up and tackled Wil from behind with a Feint Attack, knocking him down and leaving him prone in front of the Lombre.

"WIL!" Braixen cried, moving to rush towards him to defend him until she too fell victim to the Nuzleaf's Feint Attack, landing a short ways away from Wil.

"NOW, LOM!" the Nuzleaf shouted.

With the two laying helpless before him, the Lombre wasted no time in blasting the both of them with a vile, vicious stream of water from his mouth. The both of them cried out in pain, as contrary to what Wil had anticipated, the water stung him as if it were acid, searing his skin even though it was nothing but cold water, albeit nasty cold water that had come from somebody's mouth.

"G-Guh..." Wil grimaced at Braixen as the both of them struggled to get up. "P-Please tell me that all water doesn't... Hngh... F-Feel this way..."

"N-No, j-just attacks that involve it..." Braixen responded, gritting her teeth. "B-But oh Arceus, does it ever hurt..."

"Yes, I've... N-Noticed..." Wil said, wincing.

"You moron, you missed his tail!" the Nuzleaf chastised, smacking the Lombre upside the head.

"Dah, s-sorry, Nuz..." the Lombre said with a whimper. Glaring back at Wil, he aimed directly for his tail this time, and shot out another blast of ick water straight at it.

"N-No you don't...!" yelled Wil, yanking his tail out of the way just in time to avoid the nasty spray, although it still splashed up onto him and stung him something fierce. Suddenly, an idea popped into his head. Realizing that the thieves were now focusing solely on putting his tail fire out, he figured that his and Braixen's best bet at that point was for him to become a distraction, and he began to taunt the two grass types, trying his best to suppress as much of the pain that was still coursing through his body as he could.

"H-Ha, you w-weren't aiming f-f-for me, were you?" he grinned/grimaced, picking himself up and waggling his finger at the Lombre. "B-Because you missed me by a mile."

Annoyed, the Lombre hastily sent another stream of liquid yuck at Wil, this time just barely grazing his side, which while enough to cause him to stumble and whimper in pain, didn't deter him from his goal.

"M-Man, you sh-sh-shoot the same way Pinnochio over there looks, UG- _LY_!"

Grabbing onto his tail, he waved it in front of his face goadingly.

"Wow, h-how hard is it to hit such an easy t-t-target? And Shnozzmeister, are you just gonna sit there on your butt l-like a little wimp and let your lily pad headed idiot of a p-partner do all the work? Because I'm s-sure whoever the hell your boss is will give him ALLLLL the credit if that's the case!"

"Gah, you'd better shut the hell up while you're ahead, you fool, you're only making it that much worse for you and your little friend the more you irritate me!" snarled the Nuzleaf, who had taken the bait and was now chasing after Wil as well.

Narrowly avoiding another few angry blasts of water, Wil glanced at Braixen urgently in between poop-stirring looks at the Lombre and Nuzleaf. Getting the picture at what he had in mind, Braixen quietly snuck away into the darkness out of sight from the thieves, readying an attack and waiting for the right moment to use it, as Wil continued to taunt and annoy the two grass types to draw their attention away from her.

"Oh, oh, I got a good one. What did the superior Fire type Pokemon say to the plebeian Grass type after he had barbecued him to a crisp?" Wil teased, standing wide out in the open in hopes of giving Braixen enough time to launch a successful attack.

"It looks like you've..." Wil narrowed his eyes as the two drew near and put on the most horrible grin he could muster before finishing, "Been _Flambebe'd_!"

The groans elicited by the thieves (along with Braixen, involuntarily) at Wil's 'joke' seemed to indicate more pain than any attack could possibly cause.

"Ugh, you moron, Flabebe isn't even a Grass-" began the Nuzleaf, before being interrupted by the engulfing flames of the Ember attack that Braixen had blasted him with. " _YAAAAAAAAAAARGH_ _!_ "

"Nuz!" cried the Lombre in alarm, as he rushed over to his blazing compatriot and attempted to put him out with a Water Gun. He didn't have the chance to, however, as Braixen quickly launched another fireball right at him, hitting him square in the face with a critical hit, and he fell back in a heap. Moments later, the Nuzleaf's flames extinguished, and he too collapsed a short ways away from his partner.

With the tables seemingly turned, Wil and Braixen firmly marched up to the now charbroiled villains and stared down at them in disgust.

"That'll teach you to steal from and ambush people, you jerks!" Braixen said, sneering angrily at the thieves.

"Nnngh..." the Nuzleaf grimaced in pain, shooting a hateful glance back at the two with the last of his energy. "You'll... Pay..."

"Ooh, we're so scared, hearing that from someone of _your_ stature." Wil mocked, folding his arms and rolling his eyes at the Nuzleaf's threat.

"As you ssssssssssshould be, fools!" came the voice from above suddenly, causing both Wil and Braixen to shoot their attention back to the pitch black treetops. Rather than attacking, however, it merely sent down two vines that quickly tightened around the defeated thieves, and then yanked them both up into the darkness before Braixen or Wil could do anything further.

"Aw, what's the matter, too scared to come down and face us now that the shoe's on the other foot?" Wil called out smugly, though he and Braixen were both still prepared for another surprise sneak attack.

"Sssssssssshut your trap, you insolent whelp!" the voice hissed back. "You don't know what you've gotten yourssssssssselves into, but mark my wordssssssss, you will both deeeeeeeeply regret this once the boss hears about it! No one makes foooooools of Team Vile and livesssssss to tell about it..."

With that, the voice trailed off, and after a few tense moments waiting for another ambush, Wil and Braixen determined its source was likely no longer with them. Lettiing out some heavy sighs, the two stood in place briefly, catching their breath and waiting for the adrenaline to wear off.

"Oh man..." Wil said, clutching his chest once he had calmed down enough to talk normally. "That was scary... Thank God those guys were so dumb, I don't think I would've been able to do anything if they'd known what they were doing."

"I'm just glad they were Grass types." Braixen added, shuddering slightly. "I don't want to think about what would've happened if that creep that yanked me into the trees wouldn't have been so easily burned... But all that matters is that we're okay..." Looking at the pitiful state the two of them were in, Braixen quickly addended, "Er, or at least, not as bad off as we could be."

Wil nodded sorely in agreement, his skin still tingling uncomfortably from the acidic water and his muscles aching from breaking Braixen's fall. He soon gasped, however, once he remembered why they were there in the first place. "Oh shoot, your berries!" he exclaimed, as he stared in the direction the berry pouch had last been, not being able to see much of anything still beyond what his tail lit up. Hastily attempting to make a break towards where they had been with Braixen close behind, Wil promptly tripped over something hard a few feet in front of him and crashed face first into the ground.

"Ah, Wil!" Braixen cried, as she hurried over to help him up. "Are you alright?!"

Groaning, Wil spat in disgust to dislodge the grass and dirt that had gotten in his mouth from the faceplant. "Ugh... I guess... I think I found your stick, at least." As he wearily got up, Wil bent down to pick up the object that had tripped him and handed it to Braixen.

"Oh!" Braixen exclaimed in surprise, as she gave the object a once over. "...Actually, I don't think this is it, but they're both just twigs, so this one should work just as well." Holding the stick aloft, Braixen uttered "Flash!" to test it out, and the forest was once again illuminated with the light that emanated from the tip of the new stick.

"G-Gah!" Wil cried as he scrambled to shield his eyes. "Give me a warning next time you do that, please!"

"Oops, sorry about that..." Braixen muttered in slight embarrassment. "Oh, but look!"

Wil glanced over to where Braixen had pointed and was now rushing over towards once the spots had disappeared from in front of his eyes. He let out a sigh of relief as he too caught sight of her berry pouch, and he slowly ambled over to join her as she checked to see if the berries were still all there.

"Thank heavens, they didn't take any of them." Braixen said in relief, closing the drawstring on the bag and clutching it firmly once again in her free hand as Wil made his way over to her, still rubbing his eyes. As he did, she positively beamed at him with gratitude. "Wil, I don't think I can ever thank you enough for helping me get these back. If you hadn't been here, I..."

"You wouldn't have gotten in this mess in the first place, since you wouldn't have ever set your berries down to get stolen if you hadn't stumbled into me." Wil replied glumly, looking down in shame. "So you don't have to thank me, Braixen."

"Oh, but I do, Wil!" Braixen said, shaking her head firmly. "Chances are they would've ambushed me regardless, because that's sadly just how rotten this land has become. For all I know, they might've been following me that whole time, so If anything, I should be happy I stumbled upon you, or else... Well, nothing good would've happened, I'm sure! So please, don't feel bad about that!"

"...Uh, okay, if you say so..." Wil mumbled, still not particularly happy about making Braixen go through such a situation. "But um, you're welcome, I guess... Even if I didn't really do anything besides provide a distraction and run around like a big ol' chicken."

"Aw, don't be so hard on yourself." said Braixen. "That's all you really _needed_ to do with those losers anyways, so don't sweat it. But regardless, it's getting really late, and I'm sure the kids are worried to death about me by now, so let's hurry back. It's not too far from here, and the least I can do for you is to give you a place to eat and sleep."

"Sounds good to me." Wil said, nodding wholeheartedly in agreement, as he wanted nothing more than to be able to just pass out for the rest of forever with the way his body was feeling.

* * *

Thankfully, the path back out of the forest was quick and simple, as the duo merely retraced their footsteps, and as oddly as before, there were no other Pokemon in sight, despite the fact that they could hear them moving around all around them. When they finally emerged and could see the sky again, it was filled with stars, the sun having set completely during their little excursion into the forest (Wil also kept his promise and had promptly extinguished his tail as soon as they got out, much to Braixen's exasperation). Braixen could tell Wil was completely drained physically, and she was feeling pretty sore and tired herself by that point, so she decided to keep quiet for the rest of the trip, figuring that they would have plenty of time to talk the next day. The walk down the singular, tree-lined path was short and pleasant as Braixen had claimed, and about ten minutes later, they had arrived at a run down looking wood and straw building at end of the road, with another crossroad running both ways in front of it. Wil could make out lights in the distance down the other road, indicating there was some sort of civilization down that way, presumably. He was far too tired to care about that at the moment, however, and was just glad to see that they were done walking for the night.

As for the building itself, it appeared to be rather dilapidated and worn, with large patches of straw missing from various spots, and most of the wood that was visible was either splintered or rotted. There weren't many distinguishing features to it, other than a couple of barebones rounded windows and a slanted, arched sign above the doorway that seemed to have said something at one point in a language that Wil couldn't even begin to decipher, but even if he could, it was so faded he likely wouldn't have been able to read it anyhow. All in all, it seemed to Wil as though it were a nice, cozy abode at one point in time, but that time had certainly passed long, long ago.

"Sorry, I know the place looks awful... I haven't really had much of a chance to fix it up, but it's not too bad inside, I promise." Braixen stated with a hint of shame, noticing the look of unease on Wil's face while he eyed the building, as she extinguished the light from the end of her stick and went up to knock on the building's only door. "Kids, it's me! Sorry for taking so long, I got kind of... Hung up, so to speak."

Almost as soon as Braixen had knocked, a loud, excited clamoring came from inside the house, and the door quickly and swiftly swung open, revealing a small army of tiny Pokemon who all rushed out to greet Braixen with a mixture of smiles and tears.

"Big Sis, you're home!"

"Wah, we were so scared!"

"We thought something horrible had happened to you!"

"Did you find any food?"

"Who cares about the food, are you okay, Sis?!"

"I care about the food, you dummy! My tummy is growling like an angry Abomasnow!"

"Hey, who's this guy? He looks suspicious!"

"Yeah, _verrrry_ suspicious! You want us to bop him one, Sis?"

" _ **WHEN'S FOOD?**_ "

"Ah, s-settle down, everybody!" Braixen said, slightly overwhelmed by her reception, as Wil merely looked on in bemusement at the scene. "Don't worry, I'm okay, I brought dinner, and no, this is a friend, he's not suspicious. Let's head inside, alright? It's too late for you kids to be out here."

Happily obliging, the kids all rushed back inside, herding Braixen in along with them, then making sure to slam the door in Wil's face before he could make it in. As Wil involuntarily cursed and rubbed his nose in pain (and also wondered if there was any part of his body that wouldn't be throbbing in agony by the end of the night), he could hear Braixen scold whoever it was that had slammed the door from the other side, before she reopened it and stepped back out with an apologetic look on her face.

"Sorry Wil, they're just... Kind of overprotective of me..." Braixen said in embarrassment.

"It's okay..." Wil replied, smiling weakly back at her and the children, all of whom were giving him various looks of scorn and distrust. "I'm... Not sure I should intrude, though."

"No, no, I insist, come in this instant!" Braixen exclaimed, shooing the children out of the way so Wil could awkwardly shuffle inside, closing the door behind him and pushing a large rock in front of it to serve as a lock of sorts. To Wil's slight surprise, the place indeed looked remarkably better inside than it did outside. There wasn't much to look at in the main room that he and the others were in, but it had a certain air of homeyness to it that gave him a sort of strange comfort. A large, dirty, decorative rug was sprawled out just in front of the entryway, and an abundance of misshapen lamps bathed the room in a warm, friendly glow. In the back of the room stood a large, lopsided wooden table that appeared as if it could fit about twenty or so people at it, though the amount of chairs that accompanied it was far less. Other than that, the room was largely empty, though there were a few hallways at the far back of the room with curtains hung in front of them to serve as makeshift doors that presumably led to the living quarters and lavatory and whatnot.

Surveying the children, from what Wil could tell, they comprised of a Pichu, a Sandshrew, a Squirtle, a Torchic, a Chikorita, and a Bagon. None of them seemed particularly thrilled to see him in their home, and his second attempt at a smile only made most of them scowl more, and the ones that didn't merely hid behind the ones that did.

"Come on now, that's no way to treat a guest, you guys." Braixen said disapprovingly at the children's reaction to Wil, putting her hands on her hips and shaking her head. "Wil isn't anyone to be afraid of, I'll have you all know that he's a very nice, friendly person, and if it weren't for him, I would even be here right now, so please, don't treat him so rudely. If _I_ can trust him, then surely _you_ guys can too. He's going to be staying with us for a little while, so I expect you to treat him as nicely as you treat me, alright?"

The kids all looked at each other for a moment as if conferring with one another, then finally relented, as they all took turns apologizing and saying 'hi' to Wil, though the Squirtle and Bagon still seemed less than convinced of his trustworthiness.

"That's better." Braixen said with a smile, nodding at Wil and giving him a look that seemed to say "They'll get used to you soon, don't worry." Turning back to the kids, she cleared her throat and continued as they all stared at her obediently. "Now then, I realize that you're probably all pretty hungry by now-"

Before Braixen could finish her sentence, the kids had all cried out in disorganized unity, " _ **YES!**_ ", and had crowded around her once again, waiting for her to produce their dinner.

"H-Hold on a minute!" cried Braixen, as she struggled to keep her balance amid the sea of antsy children. "Let me finish, please!"

With a collective whining noise that reminded Wil of the sound of air escaping from a deflating balloon, the children all returned to their previous spots and looked back at Braixen eagerly.

Glancing at the hopeful, expectant looks on their faces, Braixen frowned inwardly and bit her lip, struggling to think of a way to say what it was that she had planned on telling the children. Finally, after a few anxious moments that only served to make the looks on the children's faces that much more confused and worried, Braixen blurted out, "I-I uh, I found some super tasty berries today, everyone! N-Now, there's not quite as many here as there usually are, b-but that's only because these special, tastier berries are harder to come by and grow in smaller groups, s-so don't worry, the extra yumminess will make up for the slightly smaller portions, I promise!"

Wil glanced oddly at Braixen, curious at the suddenly forced and nervous manner of her speech. The kids seemed to pay no heed to it however, and merely erupted in celebration at the promise of extra tasty food.

"Oh boy!" cried Squirtle, who looked back at the other kids smugly. "See, what'd I tell you guys? Sis wouldn't keep us waiting unless she had a good reason!"

"I don't remember you saying that at all..." remarked Sandshrew, drawing a sour look from Squirtle.

"Yeah, come to think of it, weren't you the one saying she was probably taking so long because she was busy eating everything herself?" Torchic added suspiciously, drawing an even nastier look from Squirtle.

"Guys, stop squabbling and go get the table ready." Braixen said, folding her arms and giving Squirtle a small smirk, causing him to stick his head halfway into his shell in shame as he followed the other children down one of the hallways, the lot of them disappearing behind the curtain and reemerging moments later carrying all manner of plates, glasses, and silverware over to the room's lopsided table. Setting it with remarkable speed, they even bothered to set a spot for Wil, though likely only because they knew Braixen would have yelled at them if they hadn't. Braixen's spot, at the end of the table, was set with particular care, as she got the only set of tableware that wasn't chipped, tarnished, or stained in some way, and hers was arranged much more neatly than everyone else's. While they were busy doing that, however, Wil couldn't help but take notice of the dour look on Braixen's face as she stared at the pouch of berries in her hands.

"Hey, Braixen, is everything alright?" he asked her, making sure to say it quietly so that the kids couldn't overhear him.

"H-Huh?" Braixen responded, looking at Wil in a slight stupor before shaking her head and smiling a little too broadly at him. "O-Oh, yeah, of course, Wil. I'm just... Um... W-Well..." Her smile quickly dissolved, as she let out a long sigh. Glancing over at the children to make sure none of them were listening, she shook her head and frowned. "I... I don't really want to talk about it right now... I suppose if you must know, I can tell you later once the kids are asleep..."

"Um, alright then..." Wil replied, giving Braixen a look of concern. He didn't have a chance to say anything further, however, as the children had finished setting the table and had rushed over to drag Braixen to it so she could fix everyone's plates. He followed closely behind, and as he watched Braixen tentatively distribute the berries, he realized why Braixen had most likely been so glum. The amount of berries that she had done her best to distribute evenly to everyone (sans herself, whom she had given not even half as many to as everyone else) was modest at best, and once she had completely emptied the satchel of its contents, the look of worry and panic that she tried to conceal on her face as she looked around at the children only served to make Wil feel like even more of an unwanted guest than before. Thankfully, the children seemed content enough with their half-filled plates (though some of them seemed less than pleased that Wil had more than Braixen), and eagerly began to scarf their meals down. Braixen, on the other hand, ate her pitiful amount of berries slowly and deliberately, likely trying to get as much out of each bite as she could in an attempt to satiate her empty, wanting belly.

Wil, though just as hungry as Braixen was, could hardly bring himself to eat any of his berries. Not because of their taste; on his starving, empty stomach, they were the greatest things he had ever eaten in his life. No, he couldn't bring himself to eat because he knew they weren't his to eat in the first place. He realized Braixen had probably given him almost all of the berries that would have been for her had he not been there, and the thought gave him an awful, sinking feeling. It was bad enough once he realized that the kids hardly had anything to eat and Braixen had to make up a lie to keep them from realizing it, but watching her try to restrain herself from eating her tiny meal too quickly made it ten times worse. He knew his stomach would make him regret it soon enough, but before he could change his mind, he had pushed himself away from the table and stood up.

"...Gee, these are really delicious, but I'm, uh, super stuffed, I don't think I could eat anymore if I tried." he lied, sticking his stomach out to make it look full and rubbing it in fake satisfaction. As the children all looked at him curiously, Braixen could see what he was trying to do, and shook her head vehemently at him as he walked over towards her with his plate. "Here Braixen, you can have the rest of mine, since you hardly had any in the first place." he said, dumping his remaining berries onto Braixen's plate before she had a chance to say or do anything to oppose it. She again shook her head and gave him an upset look, but he merely smiled back at her and walked over to the front door, again before she had a chance to protest. "I think I'm going to go use the little lizard's room... Uh, assuming I can figure out how to do that with this bod-er, I-I mean, assuming I can figure out where to do that around here..." Wil's stomach picked that moment to let out a loud, almost menacing growl, drawing looks of bewilderment from the children and one of annoyance from Braixen. "Ehehe... So uh, back in a few, enjoy your dinner, everyone!"

"Wil, wait-"

Wincing as his battered body struggled to push the entry rock out of the way, Wil slipped out of the door before Braixen could get anymore out. Once he was outside, he let out a sigh. He hoped Braixen wouldn't be too mad at him for doing that, but he figured that even if she refused to eat it herself, she could at least give the rest of his to the kids. His stomach let out another hateful growl, not at all happy about what he just did, and he clutched it in pain.

"Ohh..." he mumbled, already feeling the effects of his actions. "Geez... What I wouldn't give for a cheeseburger right now... With thick, juicy onions, and rich, plentiful mayo, and jalapenos... So many jalapenos... Gah..." Slumping down to the ground, he groaned and stared off into the distance. He felt miserable. He was hungry, tired, aching pretty much everywhere, and above all, still scared. There were so, so many questions buzzing in his mind, questions that he knew he had no hopes of finding any answers to anytime soon. For all he knew, he really was just dreaming all of this... But it sure felt real to him.

Alongside all of that, there was nary a positive thought in Wil's mind at that point. He felt terrible for what he had put Braixen through already, he didn't want to bother her or her kids anymore, nor did he want to eat the little bit of food that she had. But what else was he to do? He had nowhere else to go, knew no one else at all, and certainly had no idea of how to rough it on his own in the wild, let alone in a foreign land, and in a foreign body to boot. Hell, he couldn't do anything besides run away in the one fight he had gotten into, what good would he even be to Braixen? It was all so overwhelming, all he wanted to do was cry, but the last thing he wanted was for Braixen to think he was even weaker than she no doubt already did, so he fought the urge and instead forced himself into sadomasochistic torture instead by thinking about food.

His tantalizing thoughts didn't last for very long, however, as he was interrupted by the door opening abruptly behind him. He didn't bother to turn around, as he knew the only person it could be.

"Wil, why did you do that?" Braixen asked in annoyance. "Don't be so stupid, I know you're starving, so please come back inside and finish eating." she continued, pleadingly yet forcefully, as she walked around to look Wil in the eye.

"No, really, I'm fine, I'll be back inside in a few, just go eat before the kids get worried about you again." Wil responded dismissively, forcing a smile.

"Gah, stop being so stubborn!" Braixen said irritably. "You can't just not eat!"

"Well, neither can you." Wil replied.

"Oh, never you mind what _I_ do, I don't want you going hungry, moron!" Braixen stated, glaring at Wil.

"No, that's _my_ line." Wil said cheekily. "Well, minus the moron part, that was kind of unnecessary."

"No it wasn't." Braixen snapped. "Only a moron would try and pull something as dumb as that little show you put on in there. I know you're hungry, stop acting like you're not."

Wil shot Braixen a look of irritation of his own. "Okay, fine, yeah, I'm starvin' like friggin' Marvin, but you're just as hungry, and I know you gave me your own berries, and I'm not going to eat your food, and that's that, so _**yeah**_."

"Ooh, you..." Braixen began, stamping her foot in frustration. "I gave you them because you're my guest and I don't want you to have nothing to eat. So stop being so ungrateful and come eat them, already!"

"W-Wait, no!" Wil cried, his voice dropping its combative tone. "I'm not trying to be ungrateful, honest! I just, I don't want you to have nothing to eat either! I feel terrible eating your food when you have so little, I don't care if I'm your guest, I should be the last one on your priority list, I'm just some random stranger you found on the side of the road, for crying out loud!"

"But... You're not, Wil." Braixen said, lowering her voice, not having meant to sound so angry. "'Just some random stranger' wouldn't have put themselves in danger by running into an unfamiliar, pitch black forest chasing after a group of thieves to help an equally random stranger that they had just met. No, you're more than that, Wil. I'd like to think that we could be friends, but if that's the case, then I want to be able to help you too, Wil, because that's what friends do, they help each other. So please, won't you let me help you by _not letting you go hungry_?"

Wil looked back at Braixen and sniffled, trying to keep himself from choking up. "...But what about you?"

"Oh, I'll be fine." she replied, waving her hand dismissively. "I've eaten less before, so don't worry about me."

"...At the very least, can't we share them equally?" Wil asked, desperate to find a compromise that wouldn't leave Braixen hungry either.

Braixen stared back at his pleading face before finally sighing and relenting. "Oh, all right, if it'll get you to eat." Her stomach let out a ferocious growl, almost as if in response, and she put on a small smile before adding, "...Thank you, Wil."

"No, thank you, Braixen." Wil said appreciatively. "...Uh, but maybe you could save mine for later, if I go back in and eat now, the kids will think I'm some kind of lying, nutjob, taker-backer, and they already seem to hate me enough as it is, so..."

"Ah, right..." Braixen muttered, before shaking her head and smiling reassuringly at Wil. "I suppose that'd be okay. But really, they'll get used to you soon enough, you just gotta give them time, they hardly ever see anyone besides me, so they're just naturally wary of everyone else. They're probably already done by now anyways, so I'll come get you once they've all gone to sleep, okay?"

"Alright." Wil said with a nod, as he watched Braixen head back inside. Feeling at little more at ease, he waited patiently outside the door for Braixen to return, doing his best to ignore his stomach for just a little while longer. As he once more thought quietly to himself, he was both happy and relieved that he could now at the very least take solace in the fact that of all the Pokemon to have randomly stumbled upon him, he was lucky enough for it to have been Braixen. And if she truly did consider him a friend... Then he would take what she had said to heart.

A few minutes later, Braixen, as promised, came outside and informed Wil that the children had finished eating and were (supposedly) in bed. Heading back inside and 'locking' the door behind them, she grabbed her dishes from the table, which were the only things left on it, and led Wil down one of the curtained hallways to a small wooden door at the end of it.

"The kids' rooms are the only things down the other hallway." Braixen explained, seeing the curious look on Wil's face as she opened the door. Stepping inside behind her, Wil surveyed the small room; as with the main room, there wasn't much to it, other than a single window, a small chair, an equally small desk, a wall mounted lamp above the desk, and a large patch of straw or hay of some sort sprawled out in the middle of the floor. "Well, it's not much to look at, but this is my room." Braixen continued once the two of them were in the room proper. "And I guess yours as well, since the rest of the bedrooms are probably in horrible disrepair now since no one's gone in any of them in years and years, let alone lived in them. I know it's not much, but make yourself at home."

"Oh, uh, I, uh..." Wil stuttered, flustered at the lack of a particular piece of furniture in the room. "...Er, that is... That's fine by me, but, uh, where do I sleep?"

"Oh, right there, of course." she responded, pointing casually at the pile of straw in the middle of the floor. "Don't worry, it's a lot more comfortable than it looks."

Blinking, Wil nervously scratched his head in confusion. "But uh, then where do you sleep?"

"The same place, silly, where else?" Braixen replied, even more confused by Wil's embarrassed reaction until a moment of realization dawned on her. "...Oh, right, you're a human, you guys have that weird aversion to sleeping in the same bed as anyone other than your mate, don't you?"

"Yeah, that... That's a thing..." Wil replied, looking away from Braixen uncomfortably. "That's definitely a thing."

"Oh, well, don't worry, as you can see, the whole thing is plenty big enough for the both of us, with lots of space in between so that, heaven forbid, we don't accidentally touch." Braixen exclaimed, again all too casually, before adding with a sly grin, "And I won't try anything funny if you don't."

"Okay, let's _not_ be having this conversation anymore." Wil said in absolute embarrassment, with Braixen merely laughing in amusement at his reactions.

"Alright, shall we eat, then?" Braixen asked, holding out the plate with the remaining berries on it. Wil's stomach answered for him, and within minutes, the two had finished off the berries, both of them hoping they'd tide them over until whenever their next meal was.

"Alright, now that neither of us are going to die of hunger, do you want to tell me what the deal was with that whole weirdness earlier?" Wil asked, stretching out on his side of the straw. He wanted desperately to go to sleep, but his curiosity overruled his tiredness in wanting more to know what was wrong with Braixen earlier. "You said you'd talk about it once the kids went to bed, right?"

"Oh, that..." Braixen said, frowning. Looking downwards, she sighed. "That's... Well, it's kind of... Complicated..."

"Ah..." Wil murmured, sensing that this was probably something Braixen really didn't want to talk about if she didn't have to. "Well, uh, why don't we talk about something else instead, then?" Wil suggested, deciding that it might be better to ease Braixen into talking about whatever it was that was wrong.

"Um, okay." she replied, looking back and tilting her head at Wil. "What do you want to talk about?"

"Well, uh, how about yourself?" Wil asked, drawing a slightly taken aback response from Braixen. "I mean, you know all about me, probably more than I know about me at this point, but I don't really know much about you, Braixen. Unless, you'd rather keep it that way, which is totally fine by me."

"N-No, I don't mind..." Braixen mumbled, looking slightly flustered herself now. "It's just... There's not really much to say about me... I'm sure you've already figured it out, but I'm an orphan. I never knew my parents, I was alone from the day I was born. I wouldn't have made it if Mama Kangaskhan hadn't found me when I was young. She was... The sweetest, most loving person I've ever known... She was the one who used to run this place, back when it was a proper orphanage. Back then, the world wasn't so bad, and people actually wanted to adopt kids... Now nobody can manage to even feed themselves, let alone anyone else... But um, anyways... Mama Kangaskhan was such a kind, generous lady. She had lost her own child when she was relatively young, but somehow, she managed to persevere through the heartache, and somewhere along the line, she decided to build this place, maybe to cope with her own loss, or maybe just because she wanted to help lost and abandoned young Pokemon such as myself, who had no chance of surviving on their own. I don't know how, but she always somehow managed to keep us all happy and healthy, we were never hungry and we were always safe from harm. And back then, there were a lot of us..."

Braixen paused momentarily as she got up and walked over to the desk, opening its only drawer and pulling a small, faded photograph out from within it. She gazed wistfully at it for a moment before continuing. "We never felt like we were orphans, because we always had each other, and we always had Mama Kangaskhan. We were our own family, we were our own friends, we never needed anybody else besides each other. Of course, being an orphanage, it was only common sense that some of us would get adopted. The plan, obviously, was that we would all be adopted, but sometimes, things just don't work out the way they're 'supposed' to. Every week, it seemed as if we were losing more of our friends, more of our family. Not that we were anything but happy for them, of course, but it does get a little disheartening after a while when everyone else is getting adopted but you... At the same time, the world was getting more dangerous, and little by little things just started becoming more uncomfortable as days went by. We had less food, we couldn't play outside for as long, and Mama... Mama was getting sick. She couldn't do as much for us as before, and she couldn't keep the house looking very nice, but she still somehow managed to keep us all safe and fed throughout it all. Until one day, she just... Couldn't no more. There weren't that many of us left when it happened, but... It was a bad day. We weren't a family anymore. We weren't... We weren't even friends anymore... Nobody wanted to stick around, even though none of us were ready for the world. I tried to convince them that we could only survive if we stuck together, but nobody would listen... Not even..."

Braixen suddenly and bitterly shoved the photo back in the drawer and slammed it shut, startling Wil.

"We all splintered, just like the support beams of our house around us, we broke apart, friendships that had been in place since infancy... Shattered in an instant. I... I was the only one who stayed behind. I was too scared to head out on my own... No, that's a lie, I was too scared to head out with _them_. I didn't want to leave this house, I didn't want to abandon Mama's... I don't know, her memory. That's all I had left, were my memories, and they were all stuck in this house, and so... I couldn't leave. I was only a kid... I mean, I'm still a kid, I guess, but I was only a Fennekin then. It was horrible at first... I could hardly fend for myself, and I went to bed without eating more times than I can count. But then eventually, I evolved, and I was able to learn how to make it on my own. I learned how to fight fast, since more and more Pokemon were starting to lose their minds and attack innocents without warning, but I can't say I'm particularly skilled at it, just decent enough to scrape by without getting horribly mauled or anything. More importantly, however, I learned how to forage for food, and that was a very good thing, because soon enough, I had somehow managed to stumble across an abandoned, baby Bagon during a trip to find food, and not long after, he was joined by five other similarly orphaned Pokemon. This was the other reason I couldn't bring myself to leave with the others; I knew there was no other place for orphans to go, and I also knew there was no one else around after Mama Kangaskhan who would care enough to want to help any of them. So that's pretty much been my life, raised as an orphan, and now raising other orphans. The only reason I have for living anymore is them, I'm so used to not getting any help or sympathy from anyone, that when someone does come along, someone like you, Wil, that it just... It means that much more to me than to most Pokemon. That... That's why I got so worked up over what you did with the berries earlier, because I haven't cared about myself in years, all that matters to me are my 'family' and... Friends. I mean, nobody else besides the children gives a crap about me, so why should I? I don't even know how to react properly anymore when someone does something nice for me, as you could plainly tell..."

"Aw, geez..." Wil exclaimed, looking at Braixen with incredible pity and guilt. "That... That's terrible, Braixen... I'm sorry for prying..."

"No, no, it's okay..."Braixen said, smiling slightly back at Wil. "It's nice to be able to talk to someone about it, at least. I'm just sorry that you were the one who had to have all that crap dumped on you."

"Yeesh, don't apologize for that, you're worse than I am." Wil said with a chuckle. "So uh, what are all the kids like, anyhow? Besides being incredibly bigoted and hateful towards lizards, that is."

Braixen rolled her eyes at Wil's japery. "Oh, you know, just like any other kids their ages. Uh, I think, assuming human kids act the same way Pokemon kids do. But anyway, they're all really nice once you get to know them, or rather, once they get to know you. Squirtle is the self appointed leader of them and the second oldest after Bagon. He's definitely the most rambunctious amongst them, but he means well. Torchic is, by all means, his exact opposite, since he's generally quiet and thoughtful as opposed to Squirtle's brash and loud personality. That's not to say he doesn't get into trouble with everyone else, but for the most part he's usually the most well-behaved. He and Squirtle are like fire and, well, water, I guess, even though they used to be best friends. I think it's because they both like Chikorita, who was the third member of their terrible trio when they were still a trio. She's sassy, but really sweet natured most of the time. She hates it when the other argue though, especially over her, so she tends to come off as a bit bossy at times when she's trying to get the others to get along. Then there's Sandshrew, she's really inquisitive about pretty much everything, and she's actually probably smarter than I am about certain subjects. She tends to be the brains behind most of Squirtle's hair-brained schemes, and I think she has a crush on him or something, so there's this whole awful love dodecahedron going on amongst them, and they're not even teenagers yet. It almost reminds me of... Uh... N-Nevermind... A-Anyways, then there's Pichu, he's a lot younger then the rest of them, so they tend to take advantage of him and his innocence more often than not. He also seems to have the stomach of a Snorlax, and can and will eat just about anything he can fit in his mouth. And finally, there's Bagon. He... Doesn't really talk, not even to me. He's been like that ever since I found him, so I don't know what happened to cause it... He seems to stay out of the others' affairs more often than not, however, and he is definitely a lot more mature than the rest of them, but in the end, he's still a kid, so he's not always so doomy and gloomy. And that's pretty much it, there hasn't been anyone else here since Mama Kangaskhan was still around, and that was about, oh, I don't know, five or so years ago."

"Geez, you've been doing this by yourself for that long?" Wil asked in astonishment.

Braixen nodded. "Pretty much, yeah. I've been trying to raise them the same way Mama Kangaskhan raised me, but... I'm nowhere near as strong as she was in any way, so all I've really managed to do is keep them from completely starving. It's pathetic to think that she was able to raise over twenty of us at any given time without any trouble whatsoever, but I struggle just to raise six and myself."

"I'm sure there are some factors there that you're ignoring, Braixen." Wil said, casting a sympathetic gaze. "You were saying, it's been getting worse and worse to live around here since then, and that even she was having trouble later on because of it. And plus, I doubt she was as young as you were or are or whatever when she was doing this, she probably had experience doing these sorts of things for years and years beforehand."

"...Still, I want to be able to provide as good a life for them as Mama Kangaskhan gave to me." she replied sadly, letting her cheeks slump down into her hands.

"Well, you have me here now, and two heads are surely better than one, right?" Wil stated with a grin, trying to cheer Braixen back up. "It'd probably be tough for most _anyone_ to care for so many people on their own, but you don't have to anymore, because I'm here to help you with that! Like you said, friends help each other, right? So that's what I'll do, I'll help you with whatever it is you need helping with, no matter what that may be. Because heck, it's not like I'm going to be doing much of anything else anytime soon."

Braixen smiled sweetly back at Wil, before holding up her hand and shaking her head sadly. "Oh, thank you Wil, but... Well, I suppose I can't really avoid talking about it any longer, you have a right to know about it as much as anyone else if you're going to be stuck here. This area, this land, whatever you want to call it, it used to be a safe, peaceful place, where most Pokemon lived with one another in harmony. There was never a real want or need for much of anything, and Pokemon happily got along with one another and helped each other out just because. This is what Mama Kangaskhan told me, at least, this was way before my time. Then, something happened one day that changed everything. Mama never knew what it was, just that one day she woke up, and everything was just... Different. Most Pokemon started acting strangely; it was hardly noticeable at first, but soon enough, she said that there were Pokemon that just started attacking others out of the blue, with no provocation or warning whatsoever. It was mostly the Pokemon that were living out in the wild who were affected, as opposed to those that were living in towns and settlements, but even some of those Pokemon started acting differently, acting snider and ruder, some even turning to a life of crime. There was something else that had changed that day, however, which Mama was always sure had something to do with the insanity of the wild Pokemon... That was the day the Mystery Dungeons first appeared."

"...Mystery Dungeons?" Wil repeated, scratching his head. "You mean like, dungeons that are in castles? Big stone underground prisons just started appearing out of nowhere one day?!"

"N-No, no, that's not..." Braixen had to stifle a giggle at the image that Wil had conjured, along with his wild reaction to it. "No, nothing like that. I don't know who first coined the term, but they aren't really dungeons in a literal sense. They're more like, well, forests, caves, things that had existed for years, things that Pokemon had been visiting and even living in, suddenly weren't the same anymore. Even wide open plains weren't safe from... Well, I don't really know how to explain it. It doesn't make any sense no matter which way you look at it. Just, these places, they don't stay the same anymore. They're always... Changing. As in, literally shifting around their architecture in the blink of an eye."

"W-What...?" Wil stuttered, not at all following what Braixen was saying.

"Well, you know that forest from earlier?" Braixen asked, to which Wil nodded intently. "Simply put, if we were to go there again, the layout would be completely, absolutely different."

"Wait, what?!" Wil exclaimed in shock. "W-What are you talking about, like, if we walked the same way, we'd arrive somewhere different...?"

"No, because we wouldn't be able to even walk the same way in the first place." Braixen explained. "That route we took, that winding, mazelike path? That's not there anymore, it's some other random path now, likely just as winding and mazelike, but completely different nonetheless."

Wil's jaw had hit the floor. "Th-That... That's not..."

"No, I know, it's not 'right', it's not natural." Braixen said with a sigh. "No one has any idea what causes it, or why or how it started in the first place. There seems to be a small window in which multiple Pokemon can go into one of them and arrive at the same exact area, like when we chased those thieves into the forest, but it's not very long. But at the same time, the Pokemon that go in don't just disappear when another Pokemon enters in after them and everything has changed. There's just... Something reality warping going on within them, because Pokemon can still find other Pokemon who entered during a different iteration of the 'floor', even though their 'floors' should by all accounts be completely different. And that's not even starting on the stairs. We didn't run into any, thank Arceus, but every single Mystery Dungeon have stairs that either go up or down, even though there's no way there should be more than one level, or floor, to them. You can go down and still see the sky sometimes... It's all so horribly, horribly wrong... And they say the longer you stay in one, the more you lose your mind. That's why all the wild Pokemon went nuts, they say, because they were living in these places, and still are, for the most part, when the changes occurred."

Wil had been rendered completely speechless. His mind felt like it was crashing as he tried to wrap it around what Braixen had just told him. He simply couldn't even begin to comprehend any of it.

"Don't worry, you'll get used to them, everyone does eventually." Braixen stated, again all too casually. "As long as you don't try to think about how they work, you should be fine. But anyways, everything changed the day they started showing up. And they didn't just affect already existing places, some really did just sprout up overnight without anyone noticing. Eventually, criminal types started to realize that these places were great hideouts, since they were always changing and were filled with mad Pokemon to boot, and so more and more criminals started using these places as areas to hide away in, or to conduct their illicit activities in themselves. Soon enough, this whole land was a lawless, terrifying place to live in, where no Pokemon was safe, as more and more Pokemon were turning to lives of crime or simply losing their minds altogether. Eventually, however, some Pokemon had decided that they had had enough, and one by one across the land, there popped up guilds, areas where like minded Pokemon who still valued peace and justice could gather and figure out ways to help each other, along with every other innocent Pokemon out there. To stop criminals in their tracks, to bring thieves to justice, and to rescue those who weren't able to defend themselves. Pokemon started forming Rescue Teams, or Exploration Teams, or whatever you want to call them. The names differ depending on where you are, but they all have the same goals in the end; bringing criminals to justice, rescuing innocents, and finding treasure."

"Treasure?" Wil repeated. "How could there be treasure in places that are always changing?"

Braixen shrugged. "Dunno, same as everything else that has to do with them, no real reason other than 'it just does'. Mostly it's just Poke, our currency, but really pitiful amounts of it. Sometimes, though, you can find TMs and Gummies and other goodies inside."

"Wait, you guys have currency?" Wil asked. "And TMs? But those are man made objects, I thought you said there weren't any humans around here?"

"There aren't." Braixen answered. "Or at least, they're very, very, _very_ rare. I think humans used to live here, because there are a lot of old human buildings all over the place, but something must have happened here that made them all leave because they've all been abandoned since before even Mama Kangaskhan was born. But it's not like they're all dead or anything, we see them all the time on the TVs and hear them on the radios they left behind, and, well, there's you of course, assuming you really are a human."

"Huh, that's... Odd." Wil muttered, putting his hand to his face. "Not that I'll be able to remember it even if I've heard of it before, but does this land have a name? I would've figured there weren't any places devoid of humans like this left in the world, other than like nature preserves and stuff. But the way you talk about it, this place is way too big to be one of those."

"Um, no, not that I know of." Braixen said, shaking her head. "Like I said before, Pokemon don't really 'do' names very much. We just call things by what they are, like that forest we went in earlier, we just call it Blackout Forest since it's always so dark in there. Likewise, a cave on a beach would just be called Beach Cave, and a rolling, sun bathed meadow would be called Sunshine Meadow, and so on and so on. We've never understood why you humans have to give such complicated and ill-fitting names to everything."

"I guess we just don't like things sounding so... Boring, I suppose." Wil stated with a small shrug. "Anyways, uh, I think I've gotten you sidetracked a bit, sorry."

"Oh, it's fine." Braixen said, waving her hand. "But yeah, the treasure in most Mystery Dungeons is nothing to write home about, so guilds also have a reward system for solving problems. The way it usually works is, someone who needs help will post what their problem is on the guild's problem board, along with some sort of reward or incentive to get Pokemon to help them with it. Depending on how difficult the mission is, the guild will sometimes sweeten the deal in order to get people to want to risk taking it on. That was actually how Mama Kangaskhan provided for us, she was one of the most skilled Detective Team members in the entire guild system. Er, that is, Detective Teams are what they're called around here, because our guild is... Different from most. But regardless, Mama Kangaskhan was one of the most feared detectives around, she was always taking on the higher end missions in order to get enough Poke to afford to feed us all every day. She also brought home the berries and apples that she found in the dungeons, but most of our food came from the shops in town. And that's the main reason why I haven't been able to provide for the kids very well. I'm nowhere near strong enough to join the detective's guild by myself like Mama Kangaskhan did, and I don't have anyone to form a team with, so I've been getting by scrounging up berries and apples from the local forests all this time. Only..." Braixen let out a heavy sigh as she turned to stare at the now empty plate that sat between her and Wil. "Only now, those berries and apples never grow back."

"Huh?" Wil asked, just as clueless as he was about everything else. "Why not? Does that have something to do with the Mystery Dungeons too?"

Braixen shook her head. "No. At least, I don't think so. I think this is more to do with another incident that happened a year or so ago. I don't know if this even registered anywhere humans lived, but there was this really bad mess that happened where time itself was stopping due to the Time Gears, which are pretty much exactly what they sound like, being stolen. I don't know much about what happened, since it occurred really far away from here on the other side of the land, but supposedly everything was prevented by a single Exploration Team, and everything supposedly went back to normal... But ever since then, nothing grows anymore. It still turns from day to night, the wind still blows, but the plants no longer seem affected by time, they never change with the seasons, and fruits never grow back. It's... Distressing. It seems to just be this area, too, because the shops still seem to get in just as many berries as before from across the land, so I don't know what's wrong. Maybe whoever put the Time Gears back messed something up, but whatever the reason, it doesn't matter. What matters is that we're running out of food, and I don't know if we'll even last another week..."

"...Damn..."

"I'm sorry, Wil, I'm sure you were expecting better than this when I said I'd let you stay with me." Braixen said shamefully, looking away from the Charmeleon. "I'm such an idiot... All I do is make empty promises that I have no hope of ever fulfilling..."

"No, don't think like that, Braixen." Wil said, shaking his head vehemently as he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"But it's true, Wil, all I do is lie to the kids, and now I'm even lying to you." Braixen sniffled. "I don't know what I'm going to tell them when I can't find anymore food..."

"...What if you won't have to?"

Braixen looked up at Wil and, noticing the thoughtful expression on his face, cocked her head. "What... What do you mean...?"

"You said something about how you couldn't join the detective's guild or whatever it was called because you didn't have anyone to form a team with, right?" Wil questioned.

"Y-Yes, but..." Braixen began, before she let out a wide-eyed gasp once she realized what Wil was suggesting. "N-No. No way, Wil! That kind of work is dangerous, neither of us are cut out for that kind of thing!"

"What are you talking about, Braixen?" Wil said with a grin. "Don't you remember how easily we, er, by that I mean you, handled those idiots earlier?"

"You said it yourself, Wil, they were idiots!" Braixen exclaimed, trying to talk some sense into her friend. "It's nowhere near that easy normally! You don't even know how to fight, for goodness sakes!"

"Well, I'll have plenty of time to learn, then." Wil said simply. "Just like you did, right?"

"No, you'll have plenty of time to _die_ , Wil!" cried Braixen, shaking her head frantically. "You haven't even been a Pokemon for a day yet, you probably don't even know how to go to the _bathroom_ , how do you expect to know how to fight?! Because that's all being part of a Detective Team is, long, long walks through horrible climates and fighting, never ending fighting! You don't want to do that, Wil!"

"Well, no, but I'd rather do that then let you and those kids starve to death." Wil replied firmly. "And uh, I'd rather not starve to death myself either, I don't think that'd be very fun... Also, I'll have you know that me not knowing how to pee has nothing to do with me not knowing how to fight, those are two _completely_ different things, thank you very much."

Braixen folded her arms and shook her head stubbornly at Wil. "Wil, stop. I'm not going to let you do this!"

"Too late." Wil responded just as stubbornly. "I've already got the idea in my head, you can't stop me now."

"But Wil!"

"But nothing, Braixen!" Wil shouted, instantly quieting down and hoping he hadn't woken the children up. "No, you said it yourself, friends help each other, so that's exactly what I'm going to do! And besides, what other ideas do you have? Yeah, it sounds horrible and I'll probably instantly regret it, but hey, sometimes you just have to make personal sacrifices for the greater good. As long as we stick together and have each others back, we should be just fine!"

"You don't have to do this, Wil..."

"No, but I will anyways."

"Wil..." Braixen looked back with tears welling in her eyes, nearly at a loss for words. "I... I don't know what to say..."

"You don't have to say anything, then." Wil said, smirking and shrugging. "That way we can finally get to sleep."

Braixen just stared silently back at Wil, before pulling him into a bone-crunching hug, her tears flowing freely as she sobbed happily into his back.

"G-G-Guh, w-why me..." Wil winced in pain, as Braixen's bear hug caused every single muscle in his beat-up body to scream in agony.

"Oh, Wil..." Braixen said, sniffling and wiping her eyes once she had finally released him. "I'll never be able to thank you enough..."

Wil waved his hand in embarrassment once he got the feeling back in it. "Aw geez, you already have, just by letting me stay here. Not having to fend for myself in the wild is more than enough thanks for me."

"...Alright..." Braixen said, nodding slowly. "I promise, in return I'll do everything I can to help you figure out why you've been turned into a Pokemon!"

"Oh crap, I almost forgot about that." Wil said sheepishly, hiding his face. "I um, appreciate that... But that's probably low priority right now, at least until things can be stabilized here."

"Okay... I guess first thing in the morning, I'll show you around town, and then we can take the guild's entry exam... Which I've heard can be pretty brutal..." Braixen stated, frowning before quickly flipping it to a smile. "But like you said, as long as we have each others backs, we'll be okay. I just know it."

"Ehe, th-that's right..." Wil muttered, though he was not at all enamored by the word 'brutal' being used in any context, let alone to describe something he would soon have to do.

"I really, really hate having to leave the kids by themselves for so long, but they're used to it by now..." Braixen said with a small sigh.

"I'm sure they'll understand." Wil said reassuringly. "They seem to love you to bits, they know you wouldn't do it if you didn't have to."

"I guess..." Braixen said with another sigh.

For a while, neither of them said anything else, just listening to the sound of the breeze blowing outside through the window, the toll the day had taken on the both of them making itself known as they began drifting out of consciousness.

"Um, I guess we should try to sleep." Braixen stated finally, as she got up and blew the flame out of the room's only lamp. "Tomorrow's probably going to really suck, so we should probably get as much rest as we can."

Wil nodded groggily in agreement. "Sounds great..."

"Thanks again, Wil, for everything." Braixen said once more as she laid her head down on her side of the straw and settled in.

"Yeah... Sure thing, Brai..." Wil muttered drowsily, already half asleep.

Unfortunately, there was still the half that wasn't asleep.

"... _What have I gotten myself into?_ " Wil thought wearily to himself. " _I really_ am _a moron... What was I thinking, suggesting something as insane as becoming a detective? I can't even find my way out of a wet paper sack! And I can't fight my way out of one, either! Oh... All I'm going to end up doing is letting Braixen and her kids down... Ugh... But what else was I supposed to do? I couldn't just... Not say anything... God, why is this happening to me? What the hell am I supposed to do...? I just want to wake up already..._ _This is the worst day ever..._ _At least in the real world I know how to... O-Oh crap..._ "

"B-Braixen...?" Wil squeaked, hoping his friend was still awake as he shot to his feet.

"What's wrong, Wil...?" Braixen said groggily as she turned over to look at him.

"Y-You know that thing you said about how I probably don't even know how to go to the bathroom?" he whimpered, hopping up and down frantically as he squeezed his legs together. "Th-The 'probably' w-wasn't necessary..."

"I... Oh... _**Oh dear**_ _..._ "

Truly, the worst day ever.

\---

Yeeeeeeah, I should probably split this chapter into two when I get the time. But anyways, uh, apologies for the massive length, and of course, any feedback, including constructive criticism and telling me to eats copious anuses is dandy. Well, hope someone enjoys this, I'll try to have the rest of what I have written of it and my other dreck uploaded by tomorrow.


	2. Chapter 2

"Hey, what happened to that ratty old hat of yours? You made such a fuss about bringing it with you, and you're not even wearing it?"

"...What?"

Wil struggled to open his eyes, his eyelids feeling as if they had fifty pound weights on each of them. That voice... He had heard it somewhere before... As his lids finally parted, Wil was enveloped in a strange, familiar sense.

"...Oh no, not this place again..."

He let out a groan and reshut his eyes. He was back in... Wait, where was he back in? A strange, swirling rainbow vortex...? Why on Earth was _this_ place familiar to him...?

"What do you mean, 'not this place again'? You mean to tell me you didn't enjoy our first little question and answer session?"

"God no!" Wil shot back at the disembodied voice. "I don't want to answer any more dumb questions about toilet hands and alien invasions!"

"Oh, quit whining, you don't have to answer anymore questions." the voice responded dismissively. "I just wanted to make sure you were still sane, that last one didn't even make it through the first day, it was... Well, it sure wasn't what I had in mind when I chose her, that's for sure!"

"What... What the hell are you talking about?" Wil asked in utter confusion, feeling as if the voice was talking more to itself than to him.

"Never you mind, it's nothing for you to be concerned about." the voice said quickly. "You're still here, and you're not babbling incoherently about wanting to go home, so that's all that matters."

"Wait..." Wil said slowly, struggling to wrap his head around what the voice was going on about. "Who are you? What is this place? And what the hell am I doing here?"

"Stop asking questions, you'll only confuse yourself more." the voice responded dismissively. "And again, don't worry about any of this, this is just a little check up for my own benefit, you probably aren't even going to remember any of this once you wake up."

"Wait, what? Once I wake up? This is a dream...?"

"As far as _you_ know, it is!"

Wil's brain fizzled. He certainly felt detached enough to be dreaming, but...

"Well, everything seems to be working as planned this time, thank heavens. Not insane, didn't get mauled, and discovered by the correct Pokemon, although I suppose someone else must have found you first and taken that silly hat. Good riddance to bad rubbish, I say."

"Again with the hat?" Wil said in annoyance. "What in the world are you-"

"Right, right, forget I ever mentioned it." the voice responded, talking over Wil with much the same amount of irritation in its voice. "With my luck, you'll probably end up finding it eventually anyways... Regardless, I don't need to hang around any longer, so don't worry, chances are you won't have to deal with me again for a very long time. At least, I should hope not, because if I messed up and chose poorly _AGAIN_ , then I don't even..."

Wil's eyes suddenly shot open in immediate realization as his previous memories of the strange place came flooding back into his mind.

"Wait, YOU'RE the one who-"

"Whoops, time to go! Have fun fixing things!"

"STOP!" Wil cried out, shutting his eyes and shielding his face with his arm as everything around him suddenly began to turn a blinding white. "TELL ME WHY I'M-"

"Wil?"

Wil struggled to open his eyes, his eyelids feeling as if they now had hundred pound weights on each of them. When he finally got them open, he was greeted by Braixen's confused face. "Nmgnhgh...?" he mumbled incoherently, smiling groggily back at her.

Braixen blinked, momentarily attempting to decipher Wil's mumbles. She quickly shook her head, realizing what a dumb idea that was. "...I... Have no idea what you just said, but... It's time to get up, Wil."

Wil let out an agitated groan at the sound of one of his least favorite phrases in the English language. "...Didn't we just go to sleep...?"

"Haha, no." Braixen said flatly, folding her arms. "Come on, the longer you laze about, the harder it'll be to wake up. And you're gonna need to be wide awake if we're going to take the detective's guild test today!"

"Hearing these things only makes me want to stay in bed longer, you know..." Wil muttered irritably. Nevertheless, he forced himself up into a sitting position, then slowly got up on his feet. As he attempted a stretch, his body painfully reminded him just how badly it was hurting the night before, and informed him that it wouldn't be letting up any time soon. "Oh, god... My everything is still killing me..."

"Yeah, mine too." Braixen said with a sigh. as she instinctively rubbed a sore spot at the mention of it. "But I'm used to it by now, and I'm sure you'll get used to it soon enough as well."

"'Soon enough' is never soon enough..." Wil bemoaned, as he cracked his spine into place with a whimper. His stomach, not wanting to be forgotten, let out a loud growl to remind him it was still hurting alongside everything else. "Urgh... I don't suppose there's anything left for breakfast?"

"Not unless you like twigs." Braixen replied, handing Wil a small stick from the pile of them she had in the corner of the room.

Wil screwed up his face as he apprehensively sniffed the stick, and then against his better judgment, tentatively touched his tongue against the side of it. "...I... I think I'll pass..."

Sighing, Braixen accepted the stick back from Wil and then stuck it in her own mouth, taking a bite from it as if it were a candy bar. A nasty, wood and dirt flavored candy bar. "Yeah, the kids don't like them either... I suppose it's an acquired taste, but... Well, there's not really going to be much else to eat around here if today doesn't go well."

Wil looked queasily back at Braixen as she finished off the twig. "...At least it's satiated my appetite in _some_ manner... Killed it dead, actually."

"Say, Wil, not to change this wonderful subject, but what in the world were you dreaming about?" Braixen asked curiously, as she bent down to scoop up an armful of twigs which Wil assumed was going to be everyone's not-so-hearty breakfast. "You were mumbling something about toilets and aliens and a hat, and you looked... Really confused."

"...What?" Wil said in utter bewilderment.

"Yeah, you looked just like that. actually." Braixen said bemusedly.

"I... Have no idea what you're talking about." Wil exclaimed, shaking his head. "I don't even remember having any dreams, last thing I remember was you having to... Uh, w-well, let's continue to not ever talk about _that_ ever again for the rest of forever. But yeah, that's the last thing I remember before waking up just now. I was zonked."

"Hmm... That's odd." Braixen said, before shrugging her shoulders. "But oh well. Guess it must not have been anything meaningful if you can't remember it."

"Yeah, guess not." Wil said with a shrug of his own. "But man, I wish I did remember it now, toilets and aliens _and_ hats, all together in one place? What million dollar movie idea did I just miss out on?"

* * *

The rest of the morning went by fairly eventlessly, as it was spent mainly at the breakfast table, where Wil sat out as Braixen and the kids enjoyed (forced down) a nutritious (unfilling), delicious (horrifying) meal of twigs and leaves. Once that was done, Braixen and Wil said their goodbyes to the children, and once Braixen ensured them that they'd be back soon enough with some real food, the duo hit the road, heading down the path that Wil had seen the night before all lit up like a Christmas tree.

"See, look, the kids are already getting used to you." Braixen stated as the two walked casually down the quiet little dirt path.

"Ha, that's a good one." Wil said dryly. "They went out of their way to completely ignore me and avoid me entirely. They still won't even let me say 'hi' to any of them."

"No, that's progress." Braixen insisted. "They'd still be glaring and sneering at anyone else by this point, I think they actually already might not completely hate you since you gave me your dinner last night."

"Oh, uh... Swell." Wil responded, clearly not as well-versed on the childrens' intricate levels of scorn as Braixen was. He quickly realized that there were probably better times to be worrying about his social acceptance amongst children, however. "Er, so where are we going, anyhow? I know you said we would head into town, but... Well, I didn't know Pokemon _had_ towns, to be honest."

"Huh? Why wouldn't we?" Braixen asked, giving Wil an odd look.

"Well, it's just..." Wil scratched his head awkwardly as he struggled to find a polite way to phrase his response. "...I had no idea Pokemon conversed like this with one another, or knew of human conventions like adoption and currency and the like, I thought those were distinctly human things. Like, and please don't take this the wrong way, but I didn't know most Pokemon were intelligent enough to behave in such a manner. You're animals and monsters and all that, we can't converse with you except in extremely rare cases, and we keep you as pets and the like in Pokeballs... To think that you all have a society and social system so similar to our own, it's... Unexpected, to say the least."

"I... Don't really know how to respond to that." Braixen said with a small shrug after a moment's contemplation, having taken it remarkably better than Wil had anticipated her to. "I guess Pokemon must act differently in areas that actually have humans and trainers and such. The Pokemon around here have ALWAYS acted like this since at least Mama Kangaskhan's time, but I think I know what you mean, since we get all of your TV shows and stuff and the Pokemon on them are noticeably... _Different_ from us. I don't think they're any less intelligent than us, they just have a different way of living... Regardless, it's probably one of those things like the Mystery Dungeons that you just shouldn't think too much about, the answer's probably out there somewhere, but I doubt it's of any importance to us."

"I guess so..." Wil muttered, though his curiosity was nonetheless still gnawing at him.

"But anyways, to answer your original question, we're going to Relic City, the biggest 'civilized' Pokemon settlement for miles around." Braixen stated, drawing Wil's attention away from his nagging thoughts. "Civilized, of course, as opposed to the ones who lost their minds living in the Mystery Dungeons."

"Relic City, huh?" Wil remarked, remembering what Braixen had said the night before about typical Pokemon naming traditions. "Lemme guess, it's built atop the ruins of some sort of ancient and mysterious civilization or something, right?"

"Er, you could say that..." Braixen replied slowly. "You'll see for yourself soon enough, it should be appearing on the horizon any moment now."

" _That's_ certainly not a strange response at all." Wil said sarcastically in reply to the odd phrasing that Braixen had used. "Though, I can't imagine why you would... _Oh_."

Wil got his answer immediately, and it was not at all what he was expecting, as the tops of archaic, crumbling skyscrapers began to appear in the distance. As the two continued on their way, more of the city's skyline began to reveal itself to Wil, and the scene it displayed reminded him of something out of some sort of post-apocalyptic disaster movie. While certainly not a metropolis, Relic City appeared to have been at one time a sprawling, bustling human city, but now... All of the buildings, large and small, appeared to be in severe disrepair, most of them crumbling and missing huge chunks of their exteriors, if not just outright destroyed altogether. Not only that, but nature seemed to have taken its course on the city as well in the many years since it had presumably been inhabited by humans, as all manner of plant life looked to have overrun the city, and the term 'urban jungle' had never seemed like a more appropriate description for a place to Wil in his life. He was left literally speechless as he surveyed the ruined city, involuntarily stopping in place somewhere along the way as the surreal sight before him captured his attention entirely.

"Well, I didn't lie..." Braixen said to Wil, once she had realized he had suddenly stopped and backtracked to his location. "This is what I meant when I said that humans _used_ to live here. Nowadays, though, it's populated entirely by Pokemon. Most of the buildings, especially the taller ones, are completely ruined and uninhabitable, but there's a small area in the center of the city that's still mostly intact, and that's where a lot of Pokemon around here live and congregate. They've done a pretty good job of keeping the area safe and in good repair, at least compared to the rest of the city. There are various shops scattered about, mostly selling essentials like food and adventuring items like TMs and orbs, but there are also some other, odder specialty shops that would probably be easier to just show you in person rather than in words. Other than that, there's a bank, where you can store both your money and items for safekeeping, and a cafe/bar, which is where a lot of Pokemon go to unwind after a long day of adventuring. And obviously, there's the city's centerpiece, the guild, or precinct, as it's more commonly called around these parts. There are, of course, numerous other buildings that Pokemon live in, but I doubt we'll ever have the need to visit any of them."

"...Jeez..." Wil finally muttered after a good half a minute of silence. He was still unable to say much of anything else, but noticing the slightly impatient look on Braixen's face, he realized that he probably shouldn't be dawdling any further, and the two started on their way once again, albeit much more tentatively now in Wil's case. He couldn't quite figure out why, but the sight of such a large city in a state like the one in front of him made Wil feel a considerable amount of unease. Perhaps it had something to do with his status as a human, as Braixen didn't seem bothered by it at all...

A few minutes later, as they entered the city proper, the feeling of unease grew even stronger inside of Wil, as the sight up close was even more odd and unnatural than it was from afar. From a distance, it had appeared to Wil as if the city had been the site of some sort of war or bombing of some sort, which was bad enough, but up close, Wil realized that the city itself didn't really look 'damaged' at all, certainly not enough for it to have been a war zone. Sure, most of the buildings and streets were falling apart, but that seemed to simply be the result of several decades worth of neglect, disrepair, and mother nature taking its course more than anything else. There were still rusted and decrepit vehicles, faded advertisements, and all other manner of a past human presence all over the place, and if anything, it appeared as if the people who had previously occupied the city had just... Vanished. Wil shuddered at the thought, and quickly went to put it out of his mind.

"Well, here we are, Relic City." Braixen announced once they had arrived, thankfully giving Wil a much needed distraction. "The town square's just a bit further down this way. Don't worry, it's a lot more livelier there than it is here, most of the time no one ever bothers to venture out any further from there since there's pretty much no reason to hang around in these spooky outskirts."

"Spooky is right..." Wil muttered, a chill running down his spine as he stared down the barren, desolate streets they passed, not another Pokemon in sight, not even the sounds of any, just the haunting, whistling tune of the wind blowing through the narrow roads and the many broken windows of the buildings that lined them. It was not an atmosphere that Wil was fond of at all, and so he began to pick up the pace once more in hopes that Braixen would do the same and lead him somewhere that had another living soul or two around. Quicken the pace she did, and soon enough, the eerie silence was broken by the quickly growing chatter of voices, and as Braixen led Wil under a small archway, which was adorned with roughly made letters in the same odd script that was above Braixen's house, it was as if she had led Wil into an entirely different world.

The town square, in complete parallel to the desecrated cityscape that loomed just outside it on all sides, was an _incredibly_ lively, bustling place filled to the brim with Pokemon of all shapes, sizes, and species. They moved to and fro, going about their days in much the same way that humans generally would in a big city, a sight that Wil felt he shouldn't have been as surprised about as he was to see at that point. Alongside that, the buildings in the town square were, as Braixen stated, in a much better state than those outside of it, with some of them looking probably exactly the same in quality as they did when it was a human city. Moreover, though, Wil was amazed to see the abundance of greenery that dotted the square, which in stark contrast to the wild, overgrown stuff that coated the outer city, was beautifully maintained and cultivated, blending in seemingly perfectly with the urban locale to provide a strange, unique hybrid setting that Wil wouldn't have ever imagined seeing in his wildest dreams. It was almost more like a park that happened to have a city built inside it, the more he thought about it. Heck, there was even a small, man made lake in the center of the square, filled with happily frolicking water types whom Wil didn't want to even try to hazard a guess as to how they arrived in such a walled off location.

"Holy sh... -uppet..." marveled Wil, gawking at pretty much everything he layed his eyes upon.

"Pretty impressive, huh?" Braixen mused. "I mean, I'm sure it's nothing compared to what you humans are used to, but it's nice and cozy for us, at least."

"Are you kiddin'?" Wil remarked, shaking his head at Braixen's assessment. "This place is AWESOME! This is like somethin' out of a video game!"

"...A what?" Braixen asked, tilting her head to the side in confusion at the bizarre combination of words that was 'video game'. She quickly shook her head however before Wil could respond. "Er, nevermind, you can tell me about it later. We need to focus on the task at hand right now."

"Oh... Right..." Wil muttered back, his expression drooping as he remembered why they were there in the first place. "Any chance you could show me around the place first before we go torture ourselves?"

"Oh, come on, it's not gonna be THAT bad..." Braixen stated, putting her hands on her hips and shaking her head at Wil disapprovingly, before adding quietly under her breath, "...P-Probably... Hngh, but I guess it wouldn't be too much of a hassle to give you a quick tour of all the hotspots beforehand..."

"Aw yeah, now that's more like it!" Wil said with a big grin. "Lead the way, Brai!"

"If you insist..." Braixen replied, sighing slightly, as she wasn't too keen on being a tour guide. Nevertheless, she began to make her way towards a small group of buildings, Wil following close behind her like an overly excited puppy visiting a new park for the first time.

"Alright, this building here is the Sawk & Throh Convenience Store." Braixen stated, motioning to the small corner store the two had stopped in front of. It looked like any other old convenience store to Wil, to the point where it even still had a functioning, spinning sign in front of it, although whatever company logo had adorned it before was now completely obscured by large, messy painted images of a Sawk's and a Throh's face on each side respectively. Through the shiny, sparkling windows of the storefront, Wil could see the place was pretty packed for a store of its size, though at least half of the Pokemon inside appeared to be Kecleons for some odd reason.

"This place is everyone's one stop shop for the essentials, assuming you can afford them these days." Braixen continued, letting out a small sigh. "I mean, at least we won't have to worry about not being able to afford anything from them if everything goes well today. But um, yeah, assuming we make it through in one piece, we'll probably end up stopping here more than anywhere else in town besides the precinct, since it's a pretty vital place for all the Detective Teams around here. They carry everything you need for adventures, from food, to orbs, and even gummis and TMs on rare occasions."

"Sounds like a swell place, but... What's with all the Kecleons?" Wil asked, the question nagging on his mind too much to let slide.

"Huh?" Braixen looked confused for a moment, before she glanced into the store and noticed what Wil was talking about. "Oh, those are their employees, from what I can tell. Kecleons are apparently super adept at finding things laying around in Mystery Dungeons, or so I've heard at least. I figure the owners must employ a small army of them, with how well stocked they seem to be at any and all times. But anyways, we'll have time to visit them later, let's move on, shall we?"

Nodding in agreement, Wil followed Braixen a short ways down the street to the next building on the block.

"This is the Seismitoad Protection Service, an odd name for what is basically the town's storage system and bank." Braixen explained, glancing over at the rather unassuming building. "The guy who runs this place is... Well, shady, to say the least... But as far as I know, his services are totally legit, and free of charge to boot, so I don't think we'd have anything to worry about storing all of our unneeded crap and excess money here."

"Excess money?" Wil repeated. "Is... Is this job REALLY gonna be _that_ lucrative?"

"Er, no, far from it." Braixen said, shaking her head. "By excess money, I meant any money we happen to have on us before we go off to a Mystery Dungeon. You see, one of the strange properties of MD's is that, in the event that you happen to faint while in one, any money and items you have on you will, ahem, 'mysteriously vanish' by the time another team has come to rescue you, if you're even lucky enough for that to happen. So it's just basic common sense amongst all Detective Teams to lock all your stuff up before venturing out, lest you happen to get in over your head."

"Oh..." Wil muttered. "But why not just leave everything at your house?"

"I don't want to put the kids in any unnecessary danger, on the off-chance anyone were to find out we had money or other goodies stored there." Braixen explained, to which Wil nodded in understanding. "But anyways, let's continue."

And so, Braixen led Wil all around the square, stopping at any location she felt was worth pointing out. There was a strange business run by a Ditto that Braixen explained to Wil would link two or more moves together for a small fee, something that she knew Wil wouldn't be able to understand at all at this point and so completely glossed over, telling him they'd come back there later when he was more used to being a Pokemon. There was also a fortune telling shop owned by a Mismagius, and despite not being a Psychic type, her predictions were usually spookily accurate, or at least, so went the word about town that Braixen had picked up on. She hadn't ever had the money to spend on something so superfluous firsthand, of course. Another place she had showed him was what appeared to be an old Pokemon Gym that had been converted into a fighting dojo of some sort, which Braixen suggested would actually probably be a good place for the two to visit later, if their bodies were still working by that point, so that Wil could get more used to fighting in his new body. Perhaps the most interesting place, however, at least to Wil, was what Braixen had described as the town's watering hole and primary get together spot, an excessively large and already packed juice bar called the Purple Pikachu. Contrary to its title, it was neither owned nor operated by a Pikachu of any sort, let alone a purple one, Apparently, the place had the name since back when the city was populated by humans, and everyone found the name to be so bizarre and ridiculous that they kept it that way.

Nevertheless, amidst all the excitement and wonder Wil was feeling exploring the square, he couldn't help but notice the odd looks he and Braixen seemed to be getting from those around them as they passed, some of them going so far as to stop what they were doing completely to focus solely on the duo and murmur amongst themselves about them. It was an unwanted and uncomfortable attention, and one that Braixen felt as well.

"Is uh, there a reason why everyone's looking at us like we're walkin' around naked?" Wil whispered in concern to Braixen, before inwardly smacking himself once he remembered that they _were_ both technically naked. "Er, well, let me rephrase that, is there a reason why everyone is staring at us like we're wearing clothes?"

"Well, for a combination of reasons, I'd wager." Braixen whispered back, the duo walking awkwardly close and in step with once another just so they could hear the other one without anyone else being able to. "For you, I'd imagine because you have no flame on your tail, and you literally must look like a dead 'Mon walking to them. As for myself, well, that's likely because I'm 'affectionately' known around town as 'that creepy orphan girl from the house at the crossroads who chews on trees'. To be fair, I was starving, had nothing else on hand to eat, and I had no idea anyone would be walking past at that moment, let alone an entire group. At least it was an oak, they're a lot easier to digest than most barks."

"O-Oh..." Wil muttered back, Braixen's explanation doing little to relieve his unease.

"Don't worry about any of that, though." Braixen said back. "We're not the only weirdos in this town, I'm sure. Once everyone gets used to seeing us, the stares and chatter should die right down... In theory. Oh, but anyways, that about concludes the tour, I'm afraid. Just about every other building around here is just residential housing, so the only place left to go is the precinct. Aren't you excited?"

"...I'll just say yes so I don't hurt your feelings." Wil whimpered in response.

"Oh my, how noble of you." Braixen replied dryly, rolling her eyes before grabbing Wil by the wrist and dragging him to their final destination.

The precinct, besides being smack dab in the very middle of the square, also seemed to be nearly as gargantuan around as some of the skyscrapers looming overhead were in height, making it very hard to miss. Rather than the police looking building that Wil was expecting, it was quite obvious that the building was some sort of town hall in its past life, as its wide, stretching steps led up to tall, powerful looking pillars that encircled the entire structure, and Wil couldn't help but consider its old school stone and marble architecture out of place amongst the far more advanced and modern buildings that surrounded it. Nonetheless, it seemed to be a much busier place than anywhere else in the square by far, as many different groups of Pokemon hurried in and out of the front doors like clockwork, some of them accompanied by less than willing charges.

"Are you sure this place is even safe?" Wil asked warily, as they climbed the precinct's many steps, being passed by a Scizor and Breloom dragging a bound and particularly unhinged looking Granbull behind them.

"About as safe as anywhere else, really." Braixen replied. "Don't worry, the jail's way underground, and they have a bunch of horribly strong Pokemon guarding it at all times, or so they say at least. Also, this place is crawling with Detective Teams at any given time, so if any criminal were to try something funny, they'd be overpowered and taken care of in a hurry."

"...Hngh, if you say so..." Wil muttered back, still incredibly leery about all the horrifying criminal sorts that were being herded into the building.

"I do say so, so don't stress so much about it." Braixen said, as the duo reached the top of the steps. "Alright, let's do this, Wil! I... I know this is nerve wracking, but we've gotta at least LOOK like we mean business, okay? Otherwise, no one's going to take us seriously, and we won't even be allowed to take the exam."

"Okay..." Wil said, taking a deep breath and putting on his best game face, Braixen doing the same. "Ready as I'll ever be, I suppose..."

With that, the duo pushed open the large, bronze double doors in front of them in unison, taking their first steps into what they soon realized was an absolutely chaotic madhouse. Voices and cries rang out all around them, and as the doors closed shut behind the two with a dull thud, the noise began to echo even more, causing a messy cacophony of sounds that made it hard for Wil and Braixen to even think, let alone try to speak.

"Jeez!" Wil cried out, as he narrowly sidestepped out of the way to avoid a group of Houndoom that were in such a hurry to get out the door that they nearly bowled him and Braixen over. He scowled at them in anger as the disappeared down the steps into the busy square. "Real freakin' courteous, you dickbags! Shoot, you okay, Brai?!"

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine!" Braixen shouted back, as she scrambled over to the corner of the room Wil had stumbled into, eager to get out of the way of the door. "G-Goodness, I had no idea this place was so... Hectic!"

"I uh, take it that means you don't know where we should go to take the exam or whatever, then?" Wil questioned, as the two made their way over to a slightly quieter corner of the room so they wouldn't have to yell to communicate with each other.

Braixen put her hand to her mouth and glanced around the large, packed lobby, trying to make out much of anything amongst the throngs of Pokemon. "Um... Oh! That's right! The few times I came here when I was young with Mama, there was a help desk where people could go to ask questions! Of course, that was years ago, and I don't quite remember this place being so... Er, 'lively' back then... But surely they must still have it around here somewhere!"

Digging deep into her memory, Braixen led Wil in the direction that she thought the help desk had been before. Thankfully, her memory hadn't failed her.

"Oh, thank goodness!" Braixen exclaimed, breathing a sigh of relief as she and Wil reached the clearly marked help desk. Staffing the desk was a rather disinterested looking Clefable, who had a cheek resting on its hand as it lazily eyed a magazine that was on the desk in front of it. Walking up to the desk, Braixen cleared her throat to try and get the Clefable's attention. Getting no reaction, she decided to speak up instead. "Um, excuse me..."

The Clefable's gaze drifted upwards from the magazine to Braixen, the same lazy, uncaring expression etched on its face.

"Take a number." the Clefable said dully, before returning her gaze to the magazine.

"P-Pardon...?" Braixen asked, confused by the Clefable's words.

Looking back up in annoyance, the Clefable rolled her eyes and pointed with disdain to a small machine to the side of her desk that had a small ticket sticking out of it. "You gotta pick a number, we'll call you when its your turn."

"O-Oh, okay..." Braixen said nervously, caught off guard by the Clefable's rather unhelpful attitude.

"Ooh, let me pull it! I love pulling things!" Wil said in excitement, as he rushed over to the machine and drew a ticket from it with far more enthusiasm than one should have in such a situation. Glancing at the ticket, his eyes lit up. "Oh boy, we're number 1111! My lucky number is 11, and that's like two of them combined! I can already tell this is a sign of good fortune for us, Brai!"

"Congratulations." the Clefable said, rolling her eyes once again. "We're currently on number 64. Hope you didn't have anything planned for today."

Wil's face dropped, as did his 'lucky' ticket.

"O-Oh dear..." Braixen stuttered, trying to keep her composure. "Um, b-but ma'am, we just wanted to know where to go to take the Detective Team exam."

Glancing back at the duo, the Clefable raised an eyebrow and smirked. "You two? A Detective Team?"

"Y-Yes..." Braixen replied, trying to appear confident. "What's so funny about it?"

"Nothin', just that you two look like you wouldn't be able to make it through this precinct in one piece, let alone the entrance exam." the Clefable answered bemusedly.

"Oh, and how would _you_ know what we're capable of?" Braixen said in annoyance. "Looks can be deceiving, you know!"

"Yeah, but not _that_ deceiving." the Clefable stated. "But oh well, if you two really want to put yourselves through it, then be my guest, it'll be your funerals." Stepping out from behind her desk, the Clefable walked around to the other side where Wil and Braixen were and led them a short ways down to a door that had something printed on it in the same odd script that Wil couldn't understand. "You're gonna wanna go through here and speak with the Chief, you can't miss him, he'll be the one ranting and raving and screaming at the top of his lungs about something or other. But anyways, best of luck, and try not to actually die, that never looks good on our records."

With that, the Clefable went back to her post, leaving the duo staring blankly at the door in front of them.

"...Is it too late to-"

" ** _Yes_**." Braixen said emphatically, opening the door and dragging Wil through it before he had a chance to object. Contrary to the main lobby, the hallway they were now standing in was much more quiet and peaceful, something the two were both grateful for as they made their way down it to the main room at the other end, which was much more sparsely populated than the lobby was as well.

Alas, such peace never lasts.

" **DAMN IT ALL, KROOK! I'M GETTING SICK AND FRIGGIN' TIRED OF CLEANING UP YOUR MESSES! WHEN ARE YOU GONNA LEARN TO DO THINGS BY THE BOOK?!** "

"That'll be the Chief, then." Wil grimaced, as the two caught sight of perhaps the most inappropriate Pokemon imaginable for such an angry voice to belong to, a Togekiss, chewing out a particularly imposing looking Krookodile. A Snorlax and Leavanny stood at their sides respectively, though neither of them seemed interested in getting involved in the 'conversation'.

"Same time the criminals do, Chief." the Krookodile replied, grinning wildly at the Togekiss, a sight that only served to infuriate the so-called Happiness Pokemon even further.

"THAT'S A BULLCRAP ANSWER, AND YOU KNOW IT IS, KROOK!" the Chief bellowed, though for all the unbridled rage that his face and tone displayed, it didn't seem to be affecting the Krookodile very much, if at all. Realizing this, the Chief decided to turn his attention to the Leavanny instead. "We don't have a place here for renegades who don't play by the rules! This is the last freaking straw, Krook! Anny, if you don't talk some sense into that thickheaded partner of yours, then you can both kiss your Detective's Badges goodbye! And you know I don't wanna have to do that to _you_ , Anny, but your numbskull of a partner leaves me no choice anymore."

"Aw, don't drag Anny into this, Chief." Krook began, before the Leavanny stepped in front of him and shook her head.

"I know, Chief." Anny responded calmly. "Don't worry, Krook understands how serious you are this time, he won't do anything so stupid ever again. _Will you_ , Krook?"

"Gah, no, of course not..." Krook growled, folding his arms and scowling.

"Somehow, I don't believe you." the Chief proclaimed, shaking his head at Krook.

"Jeez, I'm sorry, okay?!" Krook said in aggravation. "For cripes sake, what more do you want from me?!"

The Chief narrowed his eyes at Krook. "...You don't want me to answer that question, Krook. You really don't."

"Say, uh, why don't we all just calm down and go get something to eat, huh?" the Snorlax interjected nervously, trying to break the tension that filled the room.

"...You know, that's a good idea, S." the Chief said after a moment, an absolutely vile, Grinch-like grin spreading across his face. "In fact, that can be the start of your punishment for this last little transgression of yours, Krook. Why don't you go out and get us all a nice big lunch? Your treat, of course."

Krook snarled back at the Chief. "Lunch?! Do I look like a friggin' errand boy to you?! Forget it, I ain't getting you crap!"

"That wasn't a suggestion, Krook." the Chief replied. "Either you get out there and get us all something to eat, or you and Anny are fired on the spot!"

Looking from the Chief to Anny, Krook stamped his foot in frustration, then turned around and stormed away, Wil and Braixen instinctively getting out of his way before made his way closer to them. "Of all the lousy, no-good, stinkin', rotten..." Krook muttered as he stomped past the duo, making sure to slam the door as hard as he could on the way out.

The Chief, realizing that everyone in the room had stopped what they were doing to watch his and Krook's latest battle with interest, scowled and barked out at all of them, "ALRIGHT, SHOWTIME'S OVER, GET BACK TO WORK, YOU NOSY BUMS!"

In an instant, everyone else in the room hurriedly scrambled back to their own business, much to all of their chagrins.

"Th-That's the boss around here...?" Wil gulped, not at all looking forward to having to interact with such an angry beast.

"Oh, I'm... I'm sure he can't be _too_ bad..." Braixen stated, though the confidence behind the statement wasn't exactly unwavering. "Well, no time like the present..."

Before they could change their minds, Braixen began to make her way over to where the Togekiss was, Wil following behind against his better judgment.

"...Anyways, sorry again, Chief, I know Krook gets on your nerves, but you know he always means well." the duo overheard the Leavanny say mid-sentence as they got within hearing distance now that they weren't all shouting.

"Yeah, yeah." the Chief muttered back. "He may mean well, but he still can't do half the crap he does and not expect there to be repercussions. I can get where he's coming from, but still, he can't just-"

"Um, T, I think we got company." mumbled the Snorlax, pointing in the direction of Wil and Braixen as the made their way to the Chief's desk.

"Oh, hi there!" Anny said, smiling warmly at the two of them. "What brings you kids here?"

"Yes, what _does_ bring you kids here?" the Chief repeated, in a much less happy tone than Anny. "I swear, if that Clefable let another group of children sneak in here, I'm gonna-"

"N-N-No, she... She let us in, sir." Braixen explained, trying to steel her nerves in the presence of such an intimidating Pokemon. "We're um, here to take the Detective's Exam, sir, we'd like to form a Detective Team, Wil and I."

The Chief, rather than respond immediately, spent a good minute just staring blankly at the two of them, trying to determine if he had heard what he thought he had just heard come out of Braixen's mouth.

"...Hey, that's great! We're always looking to get more Detective Teams around here, especially in these dark times!" the Snorlax said after a moment, trying to break up the awkward silence once he realized the Togekiss likely wasn't going to anytime soon. "...Uh, aren't we, T?"

"...Listen, I'm a busy man, I don't have time to help you little brats with your game of pretend, so why don't you just run on home to mommy and daddy before you get in a REAL Detective Team's way, huh?" the Chief said dismissively after another moment of silence, waving the two off towards the door.

"W-What?!" Braixen cried in shock. "W-Wait, no, we're not playing pretend! We really DO want to take the exam and become a Detective Team! Don't we, Wil?"

"Er, well, one of the two, anyways..." Wil muttered, causing Braixen to elbow him in the ribs. "Ow, jeez, I mean, yeah, yeah, we do, Mister, uh, Togekiss, sir. Scout's honor!"

"Aw, why don't you give 'em a chance, Chief?" the Anny said, giving the duo a look of compassion. "Look how earnest they are! When was the last time you saw anyone so young look so determined to join the Detective's Guild?"

"Never, but frankly, that's more likely than not solely because they have no idea what it is they're trying to get themselves into." the Chief responded, still staring at the duo with a look of skepticism and heavy scrutiny. "Why in Arceus' name are you two so bound and determined to form a Detective Team for? There ain't nothin' fun or glamorous about it, despite any stories you may've heard about it from your parents."

"I know, sir. We realize how difficult it is." Braixen began. "My um, mother was a Detective, so I know all about how grueling and dangerous the job is."

"You had a parent in this line of work, and you _still_ want to join?" the Chief said incredulously. "Didn't she teach you any common sense? And what about your little pal there, why the hell does HE want to do this for?"

"Um, I, uh, well..." Wil started, fumbling over everything he tried to say. "...I'll uh, just let Braixen explain it..."

"Um, yes, well..." Braixen cleared her throat, her nerves beginning to get the best of her.

"Don't be so nervous, dears, just calm yourselves." Anny said sweetly. "Don't let the Chief intimidate you, just say what you've got to say, okay?"

"Um, a-alright..." Braixen said, as she glanced over to Wil, who nodded back to her. Taking a deep breath, she steadied herself and began her explanation. "Okay, I'll try to keep it short. My name is Braixen, and this is my friend, Wil. I'm an orphan, and he's... Well, let's just say he's an orphan too. Besides the two of us, we also have six other, younger orphaned kids to take care of, and none of them are old enough to fend for themselves. As I'm sure you're well aware of, there has been less and less food left in any of the forests and whatnot in this area due to... Whatever it is that's causing it to stop growing, and as a result, we not only have nothing for ourselves to eat, we also have nothing for them to eat, and it's gotten to the point where I don't think there's enough food left to forage to last another week, sir. I know how brutal being part of a Detective Team is, but I feel we have no choice anymore, we have no other viable means of acquiring food or the money for food, and if we don't do this, then we'll all end up starving to death. So please, sir, could we at the very least take the Detective's Exam? If we fail, then we fail, but at the very least, I'd like to be able to tell the kids that we tried."

"Oh, you poor dears..." Anny cried, looking at them with sorrow, then turning her gaze to the Chief. "Oh, Chief, you're not gonna deny them after _that_ , are you?"

"Come on, T, what could it hurt?" Snorlax added.

After another uncomfortable and altogether too long silence, the Chief spoke up, though the question he asked was not at all one Braixen or anyone else was expecting.

"...Humor me, what was your mother's name, girl?"

"H-Huh?" Braixen stuttered, caught off guard by the odd question. "Um, she was a Kangaskhan, sir. She use to run the orphanage at the crossroads outside of town, and she usually worked on her own."

"...Dear lord, one of _her's_..." the Chief muttered to himself, trailing off and seemingly forgetting where he was for a moment. Finally, he snapped back to attention, directing a sharp gaze at Braixen and Wil. "Alright, if you were raised by _her_ , then maybe you do have what it takes to make it... But I'm not so sure about your buddy there. He doesn't look too strong. I mean, dang, his tail isn't even lit, what the hell is up with that? Shouldn't you be dead right now, kid?"

"Uh... I dunno, probably." Wil said, shrugging his shoulders, unsure of how to actually answer that, his response drawing stifled laughter from Anny and Snorlax. "But um, I know I don't look like much, sir, but I swear to you, I'm willing to do whatever it takes to help Braixen and her kids out, even if it means putting myself through excruciating pain and danger. I'd be kinda homeless right now if not for her, so I pretty much owe it to her."

Anny clasped her hands together and squealed. "Aw... That's so precious!"

"Anny, will you please?" the Chief reprimanded, not a fan of Anny's cooing. "Now, that's all well and good for you to _say_ those things, kid, but it's another thing entirely for you to actually _do_ them. Tell me, just how much do you know about being part of a Detective Team?"

"Well..." Wil cast a nervous, sideways glance at Braixen before letting his shoulders slump and sighing. "...Not that much, to be honest. I... Have amnesia, so to speak, so I don't really know or remember much of anything. I know that they were formed to help other Pokemon in need, and to stop criminal scum and all that. I know they go into Mystery Dungeons more often than not to deal with these tasks, and that in of itself is dangerous enough. I know that they're called Rescue Teams or Exploration Teams elsewhere, but for whatever reason there's some sort of cop motif going on here. And lastly, I know that whatever this exam thing is, it sounds absolutely horrifying, but again, I'm prepared for the worst, no matter how bad that 'worst' is."

"Well, allow me to educate you a little more on what it means to be one of us, and why exactly we have this whole 'cop motif' going on." the Chief began, looking Wil square in the eye with an intensity that made Wil afraid to break eye contact, even by blinking. "You see, the reason we call ourselves Detectives around here, and why we call this place a precinct instead of a guild, is because this area is far too dangerous and lawless for a mere Rescuer or Explorer to handle. This ain't no fun and games like it may be elsewhere. For us, being a Detective is life or death, we don't go out to find treasure, or to make friends, we go out to bring criminals to justice, stop kidnappings, and on much rarer occasions, retrieve a person's valuables. No matter what it is, it always involves some sort of villain. In other areas, there isn't nearly so much criminal activity, so the main focus is, well, on rescuing lost Pokemon, or merely exploring. Sure, they have criminal notice boards too, but our ENTIRE notice board is almost nothing but wanted posters. It seems for every good Pokemon left around here, there's another five that have turned to a life of crime, and it's the way the land is these days that's causing it. It's been getting steadily worse as the years have gone by, and since this latest crisis with the food, it's only grown more rampant, as unfortunately, most Pokemon would rather just take the easy way out rather than try to make an honest living like you two. It's a tough life kid, I ain't gonna lie to you about that, and it sure enough ain't for everyone. You've gotta be absolutely CERTAIN that you're willing to risk your life every day for random strangers, and for the good of Pokemonity, with little to no recognition and usually even less rewards. Are you still sure you wanna do this?"

Finally breaking his gaze from the Chief, Wil gulped hard and turned to look at Braixen. After a moment to gather himself, he turned back to the Chief and nodded firmly, a rare look of total seriousness on his face. "Yes sir, I'm sure. I made a promise to my friend, that I'd help her with anything she needed, and I'm not one to break a promise. If I can help out others in the process, then that's just an added bonus."

The Chief gazed long and hard at the two Pokemon that stood in front of him, neither of their expressions wavering anymore as they stood resolute with one another. Finally, after what seemed like forever to the two, he cracked a small grin, something that apparently shocked Anny and Snorlax enough to elicit gasps.

"Alright, what the hell." he said with a chuckle. "I don't know why, but for some reason I'm feeling generous today. I'll let you kids take the exam."

Braixen's face absolutely lit up with the news. Wil's, not so much.

"Oh, thank you sir, thank you so much!" Braixen cried.

"Heh, first time I've ever seen anyone so happy to take the exam." Snorlax remarked in amusement to the Chief, as Braixen literally jumped for joy, and was in the process of trying to coax Wil into doing the same. "Heck, first time I've ever seen anyone happy at ALL to take it."

"Yeah, well, somethin' tells me they ain't gonna be too happy by the end of it." the Chief said back wryly.

"Alright, so um, what exactly does this exam entail?" Wil asked, once Braixen realized her plan to get him to jump with her was futile. "I get the feeling it isn't written or oral by any means."

"Haha, no." the Chief replied, shaking his head. "Think of it more as a field exam. As in, if you wanna become a Detective Team, then you're gonna have to go out there and prove it, by tackling something that only a Detective Team would."

"Y-You mean, you're gonna send us on a mission?" Braixen asked, slightly taken aback by this development.

"That's right." the Chief nodded in response. "No better way to test your mettle than by actually doing the thing you're testing for, after all. Of course, it'll be as low level a mission as we have, and certain precautions will be made, as well as a key... Difference."

"Oh boy." Wil moaned. "It's never good when someone trails off before finishing their sentence like that."

"Ah, shut it, kid." the Chief chided. "It ain't nothin' bad, and it's actually for your benefits. Like all Detective Teams, you'll each be given a Detective's Badge, which is the most important part of any Detective's inventory. With it, you can instantly warp yourselves or any other willing Pokemon out of a Mystery Dungeon at any time, should things get too hairy for you. Of course, if you were to use them for that purpose in the exam, I don't think you'd be ahold of them for very long. Besides that, you'll also be given a collapsible carrying case for any items you wanna bring in or happen to find along the way. A very handy item, and they cost a fortune, so pray you never lose yours should you pass and get one. Finally, since you're a couple of newbies, I'm of course not going to send you out there on your own. No, you'll be assigned another, more experienced Detective Team to follow you, show you the ropes, make sure you don't get in over your heads, and most importantly, grade you, and find out if you're actually cut out to be a Detective Team in the first place."

"Don't worry, we all have to do it when we first join." Anny exclaimed. "As long as you know how to handle yourselves properly, you'll have no worries about passing."

"Er, you mean like, fighting and stuff...?" Wil asked tentatively.

"Well, of course, that's the main thing Detective Teams do, after all." the Chief replied. "What did you think, we went out there and just hugged it out with all those batpoop crazy Pokemon and criminals in the Mystery Dungeons?"

"N-No, that's not what I... Er, forget it, I was just... Making sure." Wil mumbled, slumping downwards for a variety of reasons.

"Um, well, that sounds acceptable, but when will we start?" Braixen asked, casting a worried glance at her partner but not letting her apprehensions show. "And when will we meet our, er, chaperones?"

"About that, what I was planning was-"

Before the Chief could finish, the door to the offices burst open, and the same surly Krookodile from earlier came barging in, stomping back up to the Chief's desk carrying a couple bags of some steaming, semi-delicious smelling substance.

"Alright, here's your damn lunch." Krook spat, plopping the soggy bags down on the Chief's desk with disdain. Looking back at the Chief, he bowed in a mock curtsy, speaking back up with words drenched in sarcasm. "Is there anything else I can do for you, your majesty?"

Suddenly, the same, Grinchy expression fell across the Chief's face.

"...Well, actually, as a matter of fact..."


	3. Chapter 3

"Gah! I don't _believe_ this crap! Stuck babysittin' a coupla' snot-nosed namby-pamby brats just 'cuz I don't do things all picture perfect squeaky clean the way that old dictator declares is 'the right' way?! It _ain't_ right, Anny! We bust our asses trackin' down those scumbag Hydreigon bandits, put our necks on the line to haul them in, and just because I happened to get a little rough with them on the way to the precinct, _THIS_ is the thanks we get for it?! Of all the lousy, rotten, no-good things that winged little cream puff has done to get back at me..."

"Oh, hush, Krook, you're hardly making a good first impression..."

Wil and Braixen followed their escorts quietly, as the Krookodile and Leavanny led them out of the city outskirts, down the road that led to Braixen's house. Neither dared make a peep, lest they incur the wrath of their grumpy chaperone any further. While Anny had done her best to get the two used to the normal preparation routines that Detective Teams usually took before tackling a mission, such as proper provision management and overviewing the mission, Krook had made it abundantly clear that he was not at all happy with the current situation, and had done little more than rant and rave about pretty much everything under the sun from the moment they left the precinct. Wil was actually morbidly impressed that he had managed to keep it up for so long without losing so much as a beat, but at the same time hearing the person who was supposed to be one of his instructors do nothing but complain about having to 'babysit' them in the first place didn't exactly instill him with confidence or enthusiasm.

"Bah, what do I care about first impressions?" Krook spat, flapping his lips together in dismissal. "These kids have no business takin' this dumb test, we're gonna get stuck holding their hands the whole way, and we ain't even gonna get paid for it, for cryin' out loud!"

"For Arceus' sake, Krook, just because you're having a bad day doesn't give you the right to take it out on these two." Anny shot back, not at all willing to put up with her partner's unnecessary vitriol. "Kids, don't pay any attention to what Krook says unless I agree with him about it, he always turns into this pouty little baby whenever things don't go his way, so don't take it personally." She shot Krook a murderous look to keep him from speaking up on the matter before continuing, "I'm sure you've got what it takes to pass this silly old test, it's nowhere near as hard as the Chief and Krook want to make it sound, they just do that to scare off anyone that might get second thoughts about joining. Weeding out those who aren't going to be dedicated before it becomes a problem, y'know?"

Wil and Braixen both nodded implicitly, though they still didn't have the nerve to speak.

Noticing this, Anny let out an exasperated sigh and shot Krook another glare. "Jeez, Krook, you've got them so freaked out that they're afraid to talk!"

"Pfft, ain't my problem." Krook replied dully.

"Maybe not yet, but you just keep this attitude up and see where it gets you later, ' _darling_ '." Anny responded, adding an extra, threatening emphasis on the last word. Whatever power Anny held in those words, it worked, as much to Wil and Braixen's shock, the surly Krookodile soon after muttered out something that could have been construed as "Sorry..." if you were listening extra hard. Seemingly enough for Anny, her demeanor soon softened again, as she turned back to the younger duo and smiled. "Now, I think we all just got off on the wrong foot from the start, and it's gonna be a while before we get to our destination, so why don't we take this time to get better acquainted with one another?"

Glancing at one another, and then at Krook to make sure he wasn't about to go off on another profanity-laced tirade, Wil and Braixen nodded. One of them even managed to eke out a tiny "S-Sure.", though it was so quiet that even they couldn't figure out which of them had said it.

Giggling at their apprehension, Anny shook her head and gave them a look of reassurance. "No need to be so worried, dears, I don't bite, and Krook won't so long as I'm around, so feel free to open up and talk as much as you'd like. Here, I might as well get the ball rolling, since I'm sure Krook's not going to add much to the conversation. As you have to know by now, I go by the name Anny, and my partner Mr. Grumpydile over there goes by Krook, we've been a Detective Team going on, oh, probably a good ten years now."

"W-Wow, really?" Braixen exclaimed on instinct, Wil's eyes flashing with a sense of slight amazement alongside her.

Giggling again, Anny nodded, happy at the fact that she had gotten them to ease up a bit. "Yup! We've been at this since we were around your ages, I'd reckon. Oh you should've seen Krook when he was a Krokorok, trying to act all tough and menacing. He was the dorkiest, most adorable-"

"A-Anny!" Krook cried out in panic, his face beginning to turn a deeper shade of red almost instantaneously. "Z-Zip your damn lips, woman!"

Krook's reaction only served to give Anny another giggle fit, which in turn only made his face even more crimson, a fact that he tried futilely to hide by stomping ahead of the others so they couldn't see his face at all. Braixen and Wil had to stifle laughter of their own at the Krookodile's overreaction, as Anny began to speak again, once she had wiped the tears of laughter from her eyes.

"Oh, dear... But yes, we've been at this for quite a while now, so rest assured, you're in good hands with us! Er, or rather, claws and mandibles, as it were..."

"Well, that's certainly a relief, right Wil?" Braixen said politely, nudging her partner so that he'd say something as well.

"H-Huh? Oh, yeah, totally..." Wil said, nodding rapidly, though inwardly, even news such as that did little to ease his fear for what was to come. _"All the experience in the world is gonna mean diddly squat when your pupil has no idea how to fight whatsoever..."_ he thought miserably to himself, his stomach churning as he trudged on alongside Braixen and the others. He hoped they would remain unaware of his true feelings for as long as possible, but realized that he would eventually end up letting Braixen down whenever it did inevitably happen regardless, causing a noticeable slump in his demeanor.

"So um, how did you two become a Detective Team?" Braixen asked, picking up on her partner's tenseness and doing her best to cover for him.

"Oh, that's..." Anny's happy expression faltered momentarily as she bit her lip in contemplation. "That's actually maybe a bit too long of a story to tell at the moment, and I somehow get the feeling that Krook isn't going to want me to tell you regardless since it's a bit... Embarrassing for him, shall we say."

"Geez, you might as well just tell 'em all about it now, Anny." Krook grunted in irritation. "Sayin' somethin' all mysterious soundin' like that, now all they're gonna be doin' the whole time is pesterin' you to tell 'em..."

"Er, n-no, not if it would make either of you uncomfortable..." Braixen said quickly, not wanting to get on Krook's bad side any more than they already were.

"Well, maybe another time, I'm sure we'll have plenty of time to talk about it later, once you two become official detectives." Anny said with a smile. "But hey, why don't you tell us how the two of you met, instead? You're both so adorable, and those little speeches you gave about one another to the Chief were just too precious! I have to imagine you two have been at each other's side for a while yourselves, with how well you seem to get on with one another!"

Braixen and Wil looked at each other in embarrassment for a moment, before turning their gazes to Leavanny and shaking their heads.

"Actually, uh, we kind of just met each other for the first time yesterday..." Braixen admitted sheepishly, though she couldn't quite tell why she felt so sheepish about it in the first place. The look of surprise on Anny's face at her admission was rather prevalent, to say the least.

"Oh my gosh, you're _kidding_!" Anny said in shock, to which Braixen and Wil once again shook their heads. "Wow, but the way you two were talking to the Chief though... You don't hear too many people who've only known each other for one day willing to put so much faith into one another like you two seem to have..." Giggling again, she cast Krook a reminiscent glance. "Haha, it almost reminds me of myself and Krook, in a way..."

"Bleargh, just gag me with a spoon already." Krook muttered. "If you're so eager to tell 'em the damn story, then just do it already, will ya?"

"No, no, it can wait for another day." Anny replied smoothly. "Besides, I'm much more interested in hearing their story now, assuming they're willing to tell it, of course."

"Oh, well, sure, we don't mind... Er, do we, Wil...?" Braixen stated, before looking at Wil hesitantly once she realized she should have asked him first before answering for the both of them.

"Y-Yeah, sure, I've got nothing to hide." Wil said with a shrug. "Uh, you can tell them though, Brai, you seem a lot better with words than I am..."

"Alright." Braixen said with a nod, before she began to regale Anny and Krook with the tale of the previous day, though she left out the part about Wil claiming to be a human for obvious reasons, instead merely stating that he had amnesia.

"...and that's pretty much it." Braixen finished, a few minutes later to an at least halfway enthralled audience.

"Yeah, see, that would've taken me thrice as long to explain, more than likely." Wil said with a small, hollow chuckle, one which faded quicker than he wanted it to.

"Oh my goodness..." Anny said quietly, bringing her hand to her mouth once Braixen was finished. "That... That's so beautiful! To think, that two total strangers can meet in such a way and go on

to form such a bond so quickly in this day and age! Why, I'm almost tempted to say that it was fate that brought you two together, wouldn't you agree, Krook?"

"I'd say it's more like you've been readin' too many of those crappy girly novels of yours lately." Krook sniggered in response, drawing another thoroughly annoyed look from Anny.

"Uh, I'm not sure if I'd go so far as to claim it was fate, but it certainly was convenient for both of us." Braixen said in slight embarrassment, trying to detract from how gushy Anny was going on about it.

"Yeah, no kiddin'." Wil added, before letting out a small shudder. "I don't even wanna know where I'd be right now if someone else would've found me..."

"Well, fate or not, it sounds like you two lucked out big time in finding each other." Anny said with a smile, trying to keep things positive as she picked up on Wil's continuing gloominess. Suddenly, her eyes lit up as she saw a certain structure coming up in the distance. "Oh! That's your guys' house, isn't it?" Braixen nodded in confirmation, and Anny continued, "Ooh, maybe we should stop in so you guys can say hello to your kids! I just have to admit, after what you've told me about them, I really want to meet them myself!"

Krook groaned in disgust at the suggestion. "For cripes sake, Anny, we don't got time for this! It's bad enough we have to waste our time with these twerps as it is, the last thing I wanna do right now is deal with even twerpier brats!"

"Er, I'm not so sure that's a good idea right now anyways..." Braixen said hesitantly, casting a worried glance at her home as they came up to it. "Like I was saying, they're kind of suspicious around anyone that isn't me, and they're still getting used to Wil as it is. Perhaps later, though, once we all have more, er, time..."

"Oh, I suppose you're right..." Anny said reluctantly, nodding her head sadly as the group passed by the orphanage.

"So uh, tell me again about this place we're headin' to, please?" Wil asked, doing his best to seem at least a little interested in their task. "It's another one of those Mystery Dungeons, right? I uh, still haven't quite wrapped my head around the concept of those things..."

"Mm-hmm." Anny nodded, before letting out another giggle. "Don't worry, we don't quite know that much about them either. But really, so long as you guys have your Detective's Badges with you, you shouldn't have anything to worry about in regards to getting lost in them or anything. But um, as for the place itself, it's a quiet, usually peaceful forest on the edge of a lake, hence the name Lakeside Forest. And er, by peaceful, I mean by Mystery Dungeon standards, at least. There usually aren't many strong Pokemon lurking about within it, typically just a bunch of low level Bug and Grass types, which is probably the reason the Chief chose it for you guys."

"Yeah, any Fire type worth their mettle shouldn't have any problem gettin' through there in one piece, but bringin' in a criminal is a whole different ballgame." Krook added seriously. "This idiot you guys have been assigned to may be just some punk Scrafty vandal, but you can't _ever_ let your guard down around a quarry, no matter how bush league they might seem. They're wanted criminals for a reason, y'know, so you can't expect them to just roll over for you like the simple, mindless mooks that live in the dungeons."

"Y-Yes sir, we realize that." Braixen said, trying to sound confident for her and Wil's sake, in the hopes that Krook would stop treating them like children, if only a little. "My um, mother used to tell me and the other kids all about how dangerous her job was, probably because she didn't want any of us to... Urgh, follow in her footsteps... But yes, I'm aware to never take a criminal for granted, even if they seem weak at first glance."

"Peh, well, let's just see how well you can apply that knowledge of yours in the actual real deal situation." Krook said, still not sounding all too confident in Braixen and Wil's abilities, casting a particularly wary eye on Wil, as he had done little more than nod along in agreement to things that Braixen had stated that _she_ knew. "We'll be watchin' you guys to make sure you don't go and get yourselves killed, but don't think for an instant that we're gonna step in unless it's an emergency. The whole point of this little exercise is to make sure you two are ready to do this crap on your own, so you'd probably be better off pretendin' that we ain't with you."

"Much as I hate to admit it, Krook's got a point..." Anny reluctantly agreed. "Once we get there, we're going to let you guys take the lead, and we'll be following a ways behind you, just to monitor and keep an eye on you. Truth be told, we aren't really supposed to interact with you guys at all once we enter the dungeon, unless we're forced to. But hey, if you kids really wanna do this, then you shouldn't need our help regardless, so like Krook said, just try and pretend that we aren't there at all, okay? Don't worry, I know you guys can do it!"

Wil and Braixen exchanged nervous glances with one another before nodding in compliance, though Braixen couldn't help but take notice of the look of dread in Wil's eye.

"Th-Thank you, ma'am." Braixen stuttered in response to Anny's encouragement. "We... We won't let you down, r-right, Wil?"

"...Nope. Wouldn't dream of it." Wil spoke in response, though his gaze stayed glued to the road ahead of him, too ashamed to look Braixen or Anny in the eye as he lied to them.

The rest of the trip was spent in an awkward, relative silence, the only conversations being bits of small talk that took place mostly between Anny and Braixen, Wil only speaking up when his name was mentioned, and Krook not speaking up at all other than a few grunts of yes or no in response to questions from Anny. Thankfully, it only took them another twenty or so minutes before they arrived at their destination.

"Gosh, this place is so pretty." Braixen stated, as the group stood at the edge of the large, shimmering lake that seemed to stretch on alongside the forest for its entire length. "Mama Kangaskhan used to take us on trips here all the time when I was little, back when it was still relatively safe to do so. She used to go into the forest and gather lunch for us while we played by the lakeside... I can almost still taste the apples she would harvest from here, they always seemed so much bigger and tastier than those from elsewhere for some reason..." Braixen's stomach growled involuntarily at the memory, prompting Wil's to do the same, giving both of them an all too painful reminder of how hungry they both still were.

"Oh, you poor dears, you're probably starving, aren't you?" Anny asked in distress as she noticed the pained grimaces that had appeared on their faces in response to their stomachs growling. "Krook, don't just stand there, give them something to eat, for goodness sakes!"

"Heh?" Krook grunted, not having been paying full attention, taking a moment to realize what Anny had asked. "Ah, jeez, Anny." he began, grumbling in annoyance as he reached into his and Anny's exploration bag and pulled out a couple of apples, then tossed them without warning Wil and Braixen's way. "You're too damned generous, woman..."

"Stop saying such silly things, Krook, there's no such thing as being 'too generous'." Anny responded, giggling as she watched Braixen and Wil juggle the apples that had unexpectedly been thrown towards them. "Besides, you can't possibly expect them to go exploring on empty bellies, they wouldn't last a floor in such a state! Now go on dears, eat up, and don't worry about paying us back or anything, either."

"W-Wow, for real?" Wil asked in shock, as he looked hungrily from the apple in his hand to the happily confirming nod of Anny, beaming in gratitude at her and Krook. "Holy crap, thank you so much! I haven't eaten anything all day, and Brai hasn't eaten anything but friggin' twigs, so oh God, do we ever need these."

Braixen, however, looked at her apple with trepidation, her stomach growling fiercely as she stared at its delicious, tempting sheen, but her grasp keeping it oh-so-temptingly away from herself. "Um... Gosh, this is really kind of you guys, but... I just... I don't think I can eat anything with the knowledge that the kids back home are still starving..."

"H-Huh?" Wil squawked, stopping abruptly as he brought his apple up to his mouth, moments away from biting into it. His stomach let out another vengeful growl as the apple stayed agonizingly close to his face, but much as he wanted to tear into it, hearing Braixen's words made him reluctant to do so, not wanting to selfishly feed himself if his partner had no intention of doing so.

"Oh, you can go ahead and eat, Wil, I'm just talking for myself." Braixen stated quickly, not at all intending for Wil to abstain as well.

Wil spent another agonizing moment staring at the apple in his hand, before sighing and reluctantly lowering it to his side. "Er, nah, if you aren't eating, than I ain't either." he said, shaking his head and forcing a grin.

"Oh, no, don't you start this again, Wil." Braixen said in annoyance, getting flashbacks to Wil's little stunt from the night before at dinner. "I already told you, I'm used to not eating, I can handle it. You, on the other hand, obviously aren't used to it, and plus, like you said, I've already eaten today, and you haven't, so you're a LOT hungrier than I am, I'm sure. So eat your apple."

"Oh my God, no, freaking _twigs_ do NOT count as food!" Wil responded, his voice beginning to rise to match Braixen's. "And besides, if you can tough it out, than so can I! In case you couldn't tell, I am incredibly rugged and manly, so this kind of thing ain't nothin' to someone like me."

"No, no, you're not doing this again." Braixen growled, stomping over to Wil and getting right in his face. Balling up her fist, she raised it up to her friend's face threateningly. "I am not about to let you go in that dumb forest on an empty stomach just because you stupidly think you have to prove something. The kids are my responsibility, not yours, so you don't have anything to feel guilty about. So eat your damn apple!"

Wil shook his head rapidly, cackling madly before raising an accusatory finger to Braixen's face to match the fist she had raised in his. "Ha! What is this garbage that's spewing out of your mouth? I told you, I _ain't_ gonna be no freeloader, I said I'd help you take care of those kids, and as long as I'm living in your house, then they sure as hell ARE just as much my responsibility as yours! But that's beside the point, fact is, if you ain't eatin', then that means I ain't eatin' either, it's just as plain and simple as that. I don't care what the reason is, either. If a friend of mine is goin' hungry, then I am too."

"My GOD, you're the most stubborn, hardheaded idiot I've ever met!" Braixen snarled, the smug look on Wil's face accomplishing little other than enraging her even more.

"I know you are but what am I?" Wil responded, sticking his tongue out childishly before putting on the biggest poop-eating grin he could muster, thoroughly pleased with himself for managing to use such a 'classic' retort.

"Wil, you either eat that freaking apple or I'll shove it down your damn throat myself!" Braixen shouted, her eyes flashing with a wildness and anger that let Wil know she wasn't even kidding at that point.

"God damn, this has got to be the most passive-aggressive pissing contest I've ever seen." Krook stated to Anny, with a mixture of annoyance and amusement. The two had become mere spectators, both of them too caught off guard by the sudden and rapid escalation of Wil and Braixen's argument to step in or interrupt the two.

"U-Um, I-I don't think it'd be very wise for either of you to head into a mission hungry, dears." Anny exclaimed loudly, having finally been brought out of her shock by Krook's words and hoping to distract the two before things escalated any further. Succeeding in getting their attentions, she spoke up quickly before either of them had a chance to shove anything anywhere. "Th-That's very dedicated of you, Braixen, and you too, Wil, but either of you going hungry isn't going to help anyone, least of all those poor kids or yourselves. You guys need the energy to get through the dungeon and all the inherent danger that lurks inside of it, it's not selfish of either of you to eat right now, for heaven's sake! I'll tell you what, once you finish your mission and we all report back to the Chief, we can go out and get a big dinner for the kids and you guys, in celebration of you becoming detectives, it'll be mine and Krook's treat since we have plenty of Poke to spare. But first you guys actually have to become detectives, and in order to do that, you need to be as fully prepared as you can be, and that means not going in on empty stomachs. So please, there's no need to get all up in arms with each other over something so silly, just go ahead and eat, and get ready for the mission, alright?"

Wil and Braixen looked from each other to Anny and then back, nodding in embarrassment and quickly muttering their apologies to each other as well as to Anny and Krook for having acted in such a way in front of them.

"Alright... Um, th-thank you again, ma'am..." Braixen said quietly, still looking downwards in shame as she finally took a bite from her apple. Wil had already gotten halfway through his.

"No need to be so formal, dear." Anny replied with a smile. "Just Anny is fine. And you're quite welcome."

"Well, if nothin' else, you two sure make a good pair." Krook began, a wide grin spread across his face. "You, princess, have got the hair trigger anger of a rabid Primeape with a case of the livertail, and your doofus buddy there seems to have poop-stirring obnoxiousness down to an artform. If this is how you guys act around each other, then I'd hate to be the poor chump that crosses YOUR paths, they ain't gonna know what hit 'em! Gahahahahahahaha!"

"Krook!" Anny hissed, smacking her partner upside the head for being so crude. It didn't subside his laughter.

"I-I resent that remark." Braixen stated, trying to maintain some semblance of dignity. "I don't have any anger issues. I just... Got caught up in the heat of the moment, that's all. And I'm sure the same can be said for Wil, _riiiight_?"

Seeing Braixen's expectant, almost demanding gaze resting upon him to back her up, Wil swallowed his half-chewed bite of apple, nearly choking in the process, before nodding rapidly and flashing a grin still coated in apple chunks. "Yeah, uh, we're both just irritable from the hunger and stuff, or something like that, probably. It's only been a day, so we just haven't gotten used to each other's quirks and idiosyncrasies and all that jazz and man I'm just running my mouth and I don't know how to end this sentence so I'm going to shut right up now."

Braixen blinked at her friend's run-on sentence, before clearing her throat and speaking back up to Anny and Krook, desperate to change the subject and hoping that they didn't think they were supervising a couple of lunatics at that point. "Yes, what he said. But um, while we finish eating and making our final preparations, perhaps we should go over what it is we're going in there to do one more time, just to be on the safe side."

Sighing in irritation, Krook spoke up before Anny had a chance to herself. "Like the Chief said, your target is a simple, punk Scrafty that's wanted for vandalizing a couple of walls in Relic City. Normally, these kind of crimes aren't even bothered with since we have so much other crap to deal with as it is on a day to day basis, but apparently one of the people who got their wall defaced got all uppity about it and posted a reward for the little idiot's capture. So yeah, this should be pathetically easy, even for a couple of scrawny little pipsqueaks like you. Just make sure you keep your guards up at all times, because you never know if the loser has friends waiting in there with him or not."

"Of course." Braixen said with a nod. "I have to imagine someone wanted for something as petty as vandalism isn't going to hide him or herself too deeply in a dungeon, so hopefully this won't take us too long."

"That's a keen observation, dear, but just remember, criminals are highly unpredictable, so try not to ever put too much stock into an assumption." Anny exclaimed. "After all, you know what they say about assuming things too quickly!"

"Y-Yes ma'am... Uh, I mean, Anny." Braixen replied, nodding intently, trying her best to glean and remember everything Anny and Krook told her, and hoping Wil was doing the same thing.

Wil almost certainly was not doing the same thing, as he polished off the last bite of his apple and let out a loud, satisfactory burp. "Oops, pardon me, ehehe. Hoowee though, that was _tasty_! Funny how things always taste so much better when your stomach is on the verge of eating itself out of hunger."

"That's nice, Wil, but uh, you _have_ been paying attention, haven't you?" Braixen asked, narrowing her eyes and folding her arms as she gave Wil another expectant gaze.

"Uh, o-of course I have, Brai!" Wil exclaimed, chuckling nervously as he desperately tried to remember what the others had just been talking about while he was off in tasty apple blissland. "You uh, you guys were talking about that guy we're after, and that he's petty and unpredictable and might have friends so we shouldn't make butts of ourselves... Or... Something like that."

"...Close enough." Braixen said, crunching into her apple after keeping Wil waiting for a brief moment to determine how sincere he was.

A few minutes later, the duo were finally ready to head into the forest, their lunches devoured and their butts prepared. Or at least, as prepared as they could be, as both of their hearts still pounded with an undeniable nervousness and sense of apprehension.

"Alright guys, this is as far as we can help you." Anny said, as the four of them stood at the edge of the forest. She gazed, worriedly but proudly at the two younger Pokemon, like a mother seeing her kids off as they left the nest, while Krook merely stood to the side with his arms crossed and a look of massive indifference etched upon his grizzled visage. "Once you step into the forest, you'll pretty much be on your own, but as long as you stay on your toes and watch each other's back, you should be a-okay!"

Braixen and Wil nodded warily in response, both of them too nervous to actually say anything, and without any further stalling (try as Wil may), the two took simultaneous steps into the dungeon, and suddenly, it was as if they had stepped into an entirely different world.

"Well, at least it's not as dark as the other one was..." Wil murmured, mostly to himself, as he and Braixen took a few more steps into the dungeon then stopped to get their bearings. Glancing around, the forest indeed was mercifully more well lit than the previous one that Wil and Braixen had stepped into was. The trees were still so thick that you couldn't really see the sky at all, but there were somehow still beams of sunshine that managed to peek through the canopy, giving the place a warmer and altogether much less menacing vibe than Blackout Forest. A warm, pleasant breeze blew through the trees, and other than a few mushrooms and small patches of vibrantly colored, low-growing flowers here and there, there wasn't much to note about the place that couldn't also be said about practically any other forest in the world. Wil had caught sight of a few small bird Pokemon flitting about high above in the tree branches, along with some unassuming bugs semi-hidden in the foliage, but none of them screamed dangerous to him in any way. On the contrary, they all looked about as docile as could be.

"Yeah, it'll be nice not to have to focus on keeping a light going." Braixen proclaimed, as she took ahold of the stick that she had stuck within her incredibly bushy tail. "Still, I think it might be best for you to lead the way again, Wil."

"W-What?" Wil stuttered, taken aback by Braixen's suggestion. "W-Why? W-W-W-What if we run into one of those crazy nutbag Pokemon? I can't..." Wil glanced towards the entrance they had come in through, looking to see if Anny and Krook had followed them in yet. He couldn't see them, but still lowered his voice to a whisper before continuing. "I can't fight, Brai! I-I-I don't know the first thing about battling!"

"Yes, and that's exactly why I think you should take the lead." Braixen whispered back, just as wary of letting the others overhear as Wil was. "If you're really serious about becoming a detective, then you're going to have to learn how to fight, and the only way to do that is to march confidently headlong into danger. Don't stress too much about it though, like Krook said, there's almost nothing but low-level Bug and Grass types milling around here, so we shouldn't really run into anything that'll give either of us any trouble at all. Just remember, the moment any Pokemon in here sees one of us, it's gonna make a beeline straight for us, and they'll keep on following us unless we knock some sense into them, so if you wanna avoid fighting, try staying out of any else's sight. Though, that's always a lot easier said than done..."

"B-B-But..." Wil whimpered, still not at all ready to go any further, the knots in the pit of his stomach returning full force as his knees locked together. "I-I-I... I'm s-s-sorry Braixen, I-I can't..."

Reaching out to put a firm but gentle grip on his shaking shoulder, Braixen looked Wil square in the eye, and waited until he got up the nerve to look back before speaking to him in a calm, confident voice. "Wil. Stop. Relax. You can do this. If I can do this, then so can you. After all, you are 'incredibly rugged and manly' aren't you? What kind of rugged and manly guy is afraid of a couple bugs and mobile plants?"

Wil let out a short, uncontrolled burst of pained laughter as he rapidly shook his head. "Y-Y-Yeah, n-no, th-th-th-that claim was greatly exaggerated for the sake of our stupid little argument. I am a spineless, gutless wimp, that's what I am, Braixen..."

"No, you're not." Braixen stated firmly, shaking her head as her sharp gaze intensified. "No spineless, gutless wimp would have done the things you've done for me, Wil. Not just rushing into danger to get my berries back, but agreeing to form a Detective Team with me, and actually following through with it. If you were truly spineless, you would have never even suggested such a thing, and you certainly wouldn't have come this far. You're scared, sure, but being scared doesn't make you a wimp. You're strong, Wil, strong enough to put yourself through all of this bullcrap to help out a group of Pokemon that you hardly know, that takes more strength than most people will ever know. All you need is a little confidence, this just seems terrifying to you because you've never had to face such a situation before and because you're still getting used to being a Pokemon. It may take a little bit, but as awful as this sounds, you will get used to this, just like I did, and once you do, this'll come easy to you. And I'll be right here with you the whole way, so you have nothing to be afraid of. If you can't handle something, then I'll be right there to back you up, but I expect the same thing from you, okay?"

Wil stared wide-eyed back at Braixen, her own stare so intense that it felt to Wil as if it were burning a hole right through him. At the very least, her pep talk had managed to stop him from shaking quite so violently, and after closing his eyes and taking a few deep breaths, he looked back up at Braixen, having steadied himself as much as he could. He was still incredibly tense and shaky inside, but... He wasn't going to let Braixen down by showing it any further.

"...Okay." he said finally, nodding firmly and doing his best to tough a smile out, which Braixen happily returned.

"Alright then." Braixen said, releasing her grip and relenting her gaze once she felt that Wil had managed to get himself back in control. Pointing ahead of her and Wil, in the only direction there was to go, she spoke with great enthusiasm, "Lead the way, partner!"

Wil nodded, swallowed, and sighed, before turning around and taking the first, tentative step down the path of... Well, whatever the path was leading to, Wil didn't know. Was it the path of danger? The path of death? Perhaps even the path of destiny, as Anny no doubt would have called it? Whatever path it was, Wil at least was able to take solace in one thing above all else, something that Braixen felt compelled to remind him, just to drive her point home in case he had any doubts...

"Whatever happens, just remember, Wil... I'll always have your back."

It was not a path that he would travel alone.


	4. Chapter 4

It didn't take long for Wil and Braixen to stumble upon another Pokemon.  
  
"Alright, Wil, time to shine." Braixen said encouragingly, motioning towards the Pokemon that stared them down menacingly from the other end of the rather cramped 'hallway' that the duo had been following. "I know you don't know any actual attacks, so I'll do my best to teach you how to do some basic moves on the fly, they're so easy even you should be able to learn them quickly. Er, no offense, of course..."  
  
"Yeah, none taken..." Wil responded, somewhat absentmindedly as he stopped in his tracks, the terrifying, wild Pokemon down the way doing the same. Staring blankly at it, he shook his head, not really sure of how to gauge the situation. "Uh... This is... This is really happening right now? Am I... Are we seriously about to be attacked by a vicious, bloodthirsty... Caterpie?"  
  
"Well... Yeah." Braixen nodded in response, aware of the ludicrousness of the existence of a vicious, bloodthirsty Caterpie. But then, she also knew better than Wil as to actually see it as a credible threat.  
  
Well, maybe 'credible' was stretching it a bit, but a threat nonetheless.  
  
"I know it seems ridiculous, but please don't take it lightly, Wil. A wild Pokemon is a wild Pokemon, whether it's a Caterpie or a Tyranitar, and you can't let your guard down around one, not even a Caterpie. Wild Pokemon seem to have some kind of disturbing radar sense when it comes to finding outsiders, and once they find you, they will stop at nothing until you've been knocked out... Or worse. And sure, that may be just a Caterpie, but that's not to say there isn't something much worse waiting around the corner, or coming up from behind us, or from both ends, and they will ALL collectively gang up on us until either us or them have been defeated. They never attack one another, not unless they're confused, but they will ALWAYS attack us, regardless of species or anything else... It's really creepy, and of course, like virtually everything else about Mystery Dungeons, no one knows why they act in such a way."  
  
Wil swallowed hard. "Oh, great... I'm going to get my ass kicked by a Caterpie, aren't I?"  
  
"Of course not!" Braixen replied, shaking her head in exasperation. "I mean, you'd _better_ not get your ass kicked by a Caterpie! Just... Don't be so pessimistic, Wil. You'll be fine. Just take your time, they usually won't move until we do. Psych yourself up, then when you're ready, I'll let you know what to do."  
  
"Alright..." Wil mumbled, steeling himself as best he could before moving forward. A few steps before the Caterpie got within striking distance, Braixen placed a hand on Wil's shoulder and prompted him to stop, leaving a short distance between them and the terrorbeast,  
  
"Wait, Wil." Braixen stated, drawing her partner's curious and complete attention. "You should use a ranged attack here, I don't think Caterpies know any long ranged moves besides String Shot, so it's basically like a free hit for our side."  
  
"Oho, I like the sound of that, free things rock!" Wil exclaimed, rubbing his hands together and grinning goofily ahead of himself at the Caterpie... Then blinking, his hands slowing down, not at all sure of what to do next. "Y-Yeah, a... Ranged attack... Like... Yeah, one of those... H-How do I do that, by the way? I mean, I know I can like, probably shoot fire lasers out of my mouth and stuff, but uh... I don't actually know how to do that on command. Is it like throwing up? Please tell me it's not like throwing up."  
  
"It's... Like throwing up."  
  
"Ah, balls!"  
  
"Okay, well, it's not _really_ like throwing up..." Braixen exclaimed warily, trying to choose her words carefully. "It's more like... Hocking a big ol' loogie up from deep in your belly." Seeing the repulsed look on Wil's face, she realized she hadn't chosen them carefully enough. "O-Oh, but, it's not as disgusting as it sounds, honest! You can't taste anything... But you might singe your lips a bit at first since you're not used to doing it."  
  
"Oh, that sounds wonderful." Wil exclaimed, his words heavy with sarcasm.  
  
"Well, I mean..." Braixen stuttered, trying to think of SOME way to put a positive spin on things. "...You've already done something similar, like, twice. Turning that into an attack shouldn't be difficult at all."  
  
"Wait, I have?" Wil retorted, his face screwing up as he tried futilely to remember.  
  
"Yeah!" Braixen insisted. "Remember, when we first met? You were all panicky because of your tail being on fire, and you tried blowing it out like it was a candle? And then in Blackout Forest, when I was, er, hanging around, and you had to relight it to be able to see? If you can do that, you can definitely use Ember!"  
  
"Ohhhh, for real?!" Wil asked, his face brightening considerably.  
  
"Yes!" Braixen exclaimed confidently. "Just make sure to make it a short, brief fireball instead of a steady stream, you need to be able to conserve your fire power for the entirety of the dungeon."  
  
"Ah, okay." Wil said, nodding before quickly double taking at what Braixen had said. "Wait, I can run out of fire?!"  
  
"Well, yeah, eventually." Braixen said, nodding. "You can run out of energy to even scratch at something after a while. Even Pokemon run out of steam, you know."  
  
"Yeah, I guess so..." Wil muttered. "I just never thought much about it before... Back in humanland, we consider Pokemon moves to have something called Power Points, or PP for short because we're lazy bastards. This... This actually makes a lot more sense than how we look at it."  
  
Braixen's face lit up a bit in recognition of Wil's words. "Oh! _THAT'S_ what PP means? I was actually just about to say, sometimes you can find drinks in dungeons and shops that are called PP Ups and PP Maxes that'll replenish your energy enough to use more moves. No one's ever been able to figure out what that stood for, though, we've just always accepted it as a tasty, fruit flavored refreshment that magically appears just like all the other strange human artifacts that show up in MDs. Not so tasty when they're all warm and stuff straight off the dungeon floor, though."  
  
"You're... You're kidding." Wil stated, shaking his head in disbelief at Braixen's claim. "Money, sure. TMs, okay, why not? But _ENERGY DRINKS_? And they're never expired? What... What the hell ARE these Mystery Dungeons?"  
  
"Beats me." Braixen said with a small shrug. "Like I said, you're better off just not thinking about it. Also, we're getting off track, let's focus on the task at hand, shall we?"  
  
"Oh yeah, I totally forgot we were getting ready to go to battle with that murderous caterpillar over there." said Wil, casting a ridiculing glance at the Caterpie. "Seriously? They don't move unless we do? That is on a whole 'nother level of creepy right there."  
  
"Mystery Dungeons in general are their own level of creepy." retorted Braixen. "Just... Stop trying to think about any of it and blast that Caterpie in the face with a fireball already, would you please?"  
  
"Alright, alright..." Wil replied, sighing as he realized he had put it off for as long as he could. Concentrating his gaze firmly upon the Caterpie, he drew a long, extended breath from deep in his lungs, then, when he couldn't hold it in any longer, exhaled, sending a short, scorching fireball straight at the Caterpie.  
  
,,,And also about five feet over its head.  
  
"Aw, son of a bi-"  
  
Wil didn't have the chance to finish his expletive before the Caterpie struck back, shooting a long, sticky thread of string at his legs, tangling them together and causing him to lose his balance and fall over as he panicked and struggled to break free from its entangling grasp. Having been slowed down by this development, the Caterpie took advantage of Wil's sticky predicament and inched ever so closer to him until its feelers were nearly touching his face, something that freaked him out considerably.  
  
"G-G-G-GAH!" Wil shrieked in a not at all manly manner, scrambling hastily back to his feet with help from Braixen. "D-D-D-Don't let it t-t-t-t-touch me!"  
  
"W-Wil, calm down!" cried Braixen, trying in vain to keep her partner from panicking even further. "Don't freak out! Moves miss all the time in these places, something about them just screws up your aim something fierce, it's nothing to get this worked up about!"  
  
"N-N-N-No, you don't u-understand!" Wil said through tightly clenched teeth. "S-S-S-Something about th-that thing almost touching me just brought me the worst sense of revulsion... I-It wasn't nothing when it was over there, but oh g-god, I am crawling out of my skin right now with that thing so close to me! Just, please, g-get it away from me!"  
  
"O-Oh dear..." Braixen stuttered, realizing the fear in Wil's eyes was genuine, as ridiculous as the sight of him cowering in the presence of a mere Caterpie appeared. "Don't... Don't worry about it, Wil, I'll take care of it. Watch your head!"  
  
Before Wil had a chance to question what Braixen had meant, he instinctively ducked as she whipped out her twig and pointed it at the Caterpie, sending a fireball of her own at the bug, this time landing a direct hit, knocking it out cold.  
  
"...You can open your eyes now, Wil."  
  
Moving his fingers from his eyes, Wil peeked out tentatively between them to see the dizzy eyed, fainted body of the dreaded Caterpie before him. Wasting no time, he quickly hopped over it and rushed to the other end of the hallway, stopping at the end to catch his breath as he waited for Braixen to catch up with him. As she did, a wave of massive shame and embarrassment crashed over him, and he felt himself completely unable to look Braixen in the eye after showing her such a pitiful, shameful display.  
  
"O-Oh god... I'm... I'm sorry, Brai..." he whimpered, his face burning red as he looked away from his partner in utter humiliation. "I... I don't know what came over me, I just... It just hit me, and I... I don't... G-God, I'm so pathetic..."  
  
The lashing out that Wil expected never came, and he was genuinely surprised as he felt a reassuring hand placed on his shaky shoulder and heard Braixen's calm, measured words.  
  
"Don't sweat it, Wil. We all have fears. This is a setback. But... It's not debilitating. Keep leading the way, if any more bugs pop out, I'll handle them if they get close, so please just do your best to deal with anything else that comes our way, okay?"  
  
Wil's eyes widened as he finally got himself to look Braixen in the eye, who looked back at him as if nothing was out of the ordinary at all. Blinking rapidly in an attempt to hold his burgeoning tears back, he merely swallowed the lump in his throat and nodded back at her, managing to eke out a shaky "O-Okay...", which seemed to be enough for Braixen, who smiled and pointed gently ahead of the duo for Wil to continue.  
  
Once his legs stopped shaking, Wil indeed continued on his way, Braixen close behind, but his already nerve-wracked, doubtful mind was now absolutely awash in disgust and self-loathing, any confidence Braixen may have built up in him gone in an instant as he struggled mightily to keep himself from crying in shame over just how pathetic he was, the only positive thought in his mind being that at least leading meant that Braixen wouldn't be able to see the wimpy, blubbering expression that he tried torturously to keep off his face.  
  
" _Some friend you turned out to be."_ his mind spat inwardly at him, causing him to let out another series of self-wallowing whimpers. _"What a freaking loser you are. You just let Braixen see just how pathetic you really are, she is never going to trust you to do anything ever again. And not just her. No. Anny and Krook had surely seen that disgusting display as well, so you didn't just lose her faith, you just royally screwed her over. There ain't no way in hell they would ever accept someone deathly afraid of a damn Caterpie as a detective! God, you're such a useless piece of garbage."_  
  
Wil was no longer doing a very good job of hiding his emotions, and though she couldn't see his face, Braixen could certainly hear the sounds and read his body language enough to realize he wasn't actually feeling any better at all. Reaching out to grasp his shoulder again, Wil instead jerked himself away from her and shook his head rapidly, his pace quickening and his emotions spilling even further as he stomped angrily through the sprawling hallways and rooms that twisted ahead of himself and Braixen, not paying even the slightest bit of attention to his surroundings as the tears that stung his eyes made it hard for him to see anything at all.  
  
"Wil, please, settle down!" Braixen exclaimed in distress, doing her best to keep an eye on their surroundings for both of their sakes while struggling to keep up with his now almost sprinting pace at the same time. "E-Everything is fine, Wil, r-really! You're getting yourself worked up over nothing!"  
  
"Sh-Shut up!" Wil snapped, shaking his head even more vehemently as he broke into a full out run, shutting his eyes tightly in a failing effort to keep his tears from streaming behind him onto Braixen.  
  
"Wil!" cried Braixen in utter dismay, trying to reach forwards to grab ahold of her friend and stop him before you got himself hurt, but only managing to stumble over herself enough to allow Wil to slip just out of her sight as he turned a sharp corner. As she scrambled to pick herself back up, she heard Wil cry out in anger from a short ways ahead, a sign that he had run into another Pokemon, causing a jolt of panic to course through her as she raced around the bend towards his voice.  
  
"I-I can do this..." sniveled Wil, glowering at the Pansage in front of him through bleary eyes and sniffles. "I-I'm not a coward, I w-w-won't let myself screw Braixen and her kids over!" Coughing, and nearly choking in the process, Wil managed a very weak Ember attack, but the Pansage dodged it with ease thanks to his bleary eyed aim. Not having taken the time to remember Braixen's advice to use Ember at range, he had gotten up close and personal with the Pansage, giving it a prime chance to counterattack him with a painful barrage of Fury Swipes, its claws raking him for several critical hits as he cried out in pain, then slumped to the ground, the sudden attack having caught him completely off guard.  
  
"D-Damn it, no..." he whimpered, reaching out towards the Pansage without even thinking and throwing a powerless punch at it, which also easily missed it due to Wil's sluggish movement.  
  
All the while, Braixen could only watch on in horror as she sprinted towards the sight in front of her as quickly as she could, her stick at the ready as she cried out to her friend.  
  
"Wil! Please, don't do anything else, just wait for me!"  
  
Wil was in no shape to argue anymore, and so he merely ducked his head down and cowered as he waited for the Pansage to KO him. Before it could get off another attack on Wil, however, it had been blasted backwards by a shot of fire from Braixen's branch, then without giving it a chance to properly recover, Braixen had jumped in between it and Wil, scratching it deeply with her claws to give it a taste of its own medicine, thankfully knocking it out. As she turned around quickly to check on him, Wil didn't even bother to try and hide his shame from her any more, openly, quietly sobbing as he rocked back and force in a fetal position, his eyes tightly shut, not wanting to see how disgusted of a look Braixen was no doubt giving him.  
  
...And yet, her actual expression contained nothing close to malice or anger of any sort, as she merely bent down and grabbed a hold of one of Wil's violently shaking hands.  
  
"It's okay, Wil." she stated softly, trying her hardest to establish eye contact with him. "You don't have anything to be ashamed about. You haven't done anything wrong. I'm _not_ mad at you, or disappointed, or anything else of the sort, so for goodness sakes, STOP getting yourself all worked up over nothing!"  
  
Wil merely slunk himself even lower to the ground and muttered something completely incoherent under his breath.  
  
"Wil, whatever it is you're feeling about yourself right now, it's wrong." Braixen stated emphatically, continuing to stare down at him. "You're not any less of a Pokemon because you got scared or freaked out or cried. EVERYONE does those things, Wil, myself included. You're just letting the pressure of the situation get to you, so listen to me, and listen good. Pick yourself up, take a long, deep breath, and forget about everything. Forget about being obligated to me or the kids, forget about Anny and Krook judging you, forget about all the silly bugs and everything that's happened so far.  
  
Wil, though finally in a sitting position, and at least a little more noticeably calm, was still nonetheless blubbering uncontrollably as he tried to mumble more garbledygook at Braixen.  
  
"Wil, I mean it!" Braixen said firmly, squeezing his hand tightly. "This is nothing. We still have a chance, but not if you just sit there wallowing in your own self pity and doubt."  
  
The shaky, nervous tension that wracked Wil's body seemed to be dissolving little by little, so Braixen knew she was finally getting through to him.  
  
"Come on, Wil, you're better than this." she proclaimed confidently, hoping some of that confidence would transfer over to him. "I know you are. This isn't the real you, this is just you getting caught off guard when you're vulnerable. You can't let all of that doubt fester in your mind, because if you let that stuff take over, then of course you're not going to be able to do anything. And I know, this probably sounds like a giant load of crap coming from someone you've only known for a day, but I don't care. I know the _real_ you is the one that rushed into that pitch black forest, chasing after dangerous criminals without a second thought, all to help someone you didn't even know. If you can do that, then this isn't anything, Wil!"  
  
"Brai..." Wil let Braixen's words sink in as he thought deeply, his mind finally escaping from the state of permanent panic it seemed to have been stuck in since the trip there from the precinct. _"...She's right. What am I doing acting like such a pathetic, stupid loser? I mean, sure, I may be stupid and a loser, but I am NOT pathetic, damn it! ...Well, okay, she probably doesn't want me thinking I'm either of those other things, either... So yeah, forget that, I ain't none of that crap, I am... I am a rugged, manly badass, I don't take crap from no stinkin' worms or monkeys! Er, w-well, m-m-maybe the worms... But screw those monkeys, man! And whatever other dumb plants and bugs and whatever else is crawlin' around this dumb ol' forest, too! I ain't blubberin' like a little baby no more, not when Brai and her kids are counting on me. Time to stop being so selfish and scared and man the hell up."_  
  
Grasping Braixen's hand back, Wil let her help him back to his feet, then after taking a few moments to catch his breath, wipe his eyes, and compose himself, he slowly nodded, meeting Braixen's confident gaze with his own.  
  
"Let's go."  
  
Braixen simply nodded back, her smile returning as Wil turned to get them back on track.  
  
As he got moving, Braixen at his back, a smile crept across Wil's own lips for probably the first time all morning. He was still wary about traversing through such a strange place, and his confidence in his fighting ability still wasn't very strong. But no longer was he irrationally scared of everything. He had no reason to be, not when he knew Braixen would be right there with him the whole way. And if she believed in him, then so would he.  
  
 _"...Thanks, Brai."_  
  
\---  
  
It wasn't much longer before Wil had stumbled upon the stairway, and even though Braixen had told him about their existence, he still couldn't wrap his head around

the fact that a forest could have floors, nor could he grasp how or why they had disappeared without a trace as soon as they had used them and turned their backs to it. He didn't have much time to really dwell on it, though, as the clearing they had emerged in was already occupied, by a pair of Shroomish... And a Weedle. And the moment Braixen and Wil emerged from the stairway, they all turned and began making a beeline straight for them.  
  
"Alright, no need to panic, Wil." Braixen said quickly, before Wil's mind had a chance to react to the situation. "I'll handle the Weedle, you focus on the Shroomish that's closest to us. By the time the one at the other end of the room can reach us, it should be the only threat left."  
  
Wil nodded. "Okay... So uh, how do we get them to come to us if they don't move until we do? What do we just, fight air until they get within range?"  
  
"Pardon?" Braixen asked, before quickly realizing what Wil had meant. "Oh, no, that'd just be silly, Wil. I think you uh, misinterpreted what I said. When I said they don't move until we do, I meant, they won't make a move until we do... But once we do, they're gonna be gunning for us until we knock them out... Or they knock us out. Though obviously, the first option would be a lot nicer."  
  
"O-Oh..." Wil stuttered, looking slightly embarrassed. "Yeah, that... That makes a lot more sense than what I was thinking."  
  
"Supposedly, it's how they determine whether we're outsiders or not." Braixen explained. "Something about how our way of walking tips them off, or some such nonsense. Whatever it is, just be ready, now that they've seen us, as soon as we take a step or try to attack them, they're ALL gonna be heading straight for us. Thankfully, none of these guys should be very fast, so we shouldn't have much trouble beating them before they have a chance to gang up on us. Even still, I'll head away from you and draw the Weedle's attention so that it doesn't get anywhere near you. Just let me know when you're ready, and remember, use your fire attacks as much as you can, they'll do a lot more damage than simple scratches and tackles would against these guys."  
  
Wil shuddered for a moment, then nodded once more. "Th-Thanks, Brai..."  
  
"No need for thanks, that's what I'm here for, Wil." Braixen said with a smile, before taking hold of her stick and turning her attention back towards their opponents. "Ready when you are, partner."  
  
Wil smiled back, then looked out towards the enemy as well. "Alright... Let's do this."  
  
Taking a tentative step forward, Wil quickly saw what Braixen had meant, as all three of the wild Pokemon began to rush (figuratively) towards them.  
  
"Keep your cool, Wil, you got this!" shouted Braixen, as she locked eyes with the Weedle and rushed off away from Wil towards it.  
  
Wil's body began to shake as he watched one of the Shroomish draw near, but he quickly clenched his fists and clamped his feet down to combat it. Remembering Braixen's advice this time, as soon as the Shroomish got within distance, Wil drew a deep breath and fired away at it.  
  
"D-Damn it!" Wil cursed, as he watched the fireball just barely miss the strollin' 'shroom, his aim still wild. As the Shroomish got close, Wil took advantage of the fact that he wasn't stuck in a cramped hallway this time, and began to dance backwards away from it, taking the time to fire off another couple of Embers at it in the process, though neither of them hit their mark either. Frustrated, Wil quit moving for a moment to catch his breath and rest his throat, waiting for the Shroomish to make a move to see if he'd have better luck landing a hit that way. Launching itself at him with a headbutt, Wil's instincts took over, and rather than try to avoid it, he took a chance and tried to catch it with both hands before it hit him.  
  
He succeeded... Mostly. He wasn't able to stop it from completely ramming into his chest, but he did manage to put his hands up and grab ahold of it right before it connected with him, keeping it from doing very much damage to him, and also somehow was able to keep hold of it, leaving it squirming and thrashing in his grasp.  
  
"C-Crap, why didn't I think this through?" Wil thought aloud to himself, as he struggled to keep a grip on the ornery mushroom. He wracked his brain for any quick, easy Pokemon moves that he might be able to perform, but it's rather difficult to think when you're holding an angry beast that wants to rend your flesh, no matter how unassuming it might be. And so, Wil performed they only move that did come to his mind; he raised the Shroomish up above his head, then with all of his strength, sent it crashing back down into the ground, letting go of it before it hit the ground so he wouldn't end up falling over with it.  
  
"YEAH, EAT THAT POWERBOMB, BITCH!" Wil shouted in triumph as his adrenaline took over, grinning wildly at the Shroomish as it began to slowly pick itself back up, its expression somehow even angrier than it already had been. "O-Oh crap, th-that was fast." Thinking quickly, Wil hastily coughed up another fireball at it while it was prone, and this time, he finally managed to connect with it, sending the Shroomish toppling and rolling backwards, fainting it instantly.  
  
"Yeah, way to go, Wil! I told you you could do it!" Braixen cried out from nearby, having already defeated the Weedle, and rushing back towards Wil as the still conscious second Shroomish did the same. "Don't let your guard down, though, here comes the other one!"  
  
"R-Right!" Wil called back, as he turned his focus to the second Shroomish, who was now just a few steps away from him and getting ready to attack. Instead of launching itself at him with a headbutt, however, it began to shake itself, directing a cloud of spores out of the top of its head at Wil. Not prepared for it, Wil accidentally breathed the spores in, and almost instantly, his entire body went numb, locking him in place as if he had a bizarre living case of rigor mortis.  
  
"Ah, crap! Hang on, Wil, you've been paralyzed!" yelled Braixen as she drew near, sending a quick shot of fire towards the Shroomish, which narrowly missed it. It did, at least manage to draw its attention away from Wil, as instead of attacking Wil's prone self, it launched itself straight at her. Not as prepared as Wil was for the headbutt, it smacked her in the side, and knocked her to her knees.  
  
"Ow..." she winced as she pushed herself up, now on the defensive as she waited for the Shroomish to make its next move. As she braced herself for it to attack, however, she couldn't help but be distracted by all the noise that Wil was making, causing her to glance over at him just in time to see him let out a massive, violent sneeze. So violent, in fact, that a line of flames shot from each of his nostrils, scorching the Shroomish that had the misfortune of being right in his line of sight. Or snot, as it were. Quickly taking advantage of the situation, Braixen lifted her branch and shot a much more powerful fireball at the Shroomish, this one not missing as the Shroomish was too busy trying to wipe the flaming boogers off of itself to see it coming. Wil, however, didn't notice any of this, as he was too busy sneezing his head off, the paralysis having worn off after the first massive sneeze, though thankfully the rest of them weren't as hazardous as the first one was. Once he finally stopped sneezing, which actually took far longer than Braixen was anticipating, she walked up to him and grinned, clapping him on the shoulder.  
  
"Well, it certainly was an odd way of doing it, but thanks for the assist!" she exclaimed, drawing a confused expression from Wil.  
  
"Oh, uh, you're... Welcome?" he replied, not quite knowing what it was she was thanking him for in the first place.  
  
"Wait, you mean to tell me you didn't notice the flames that shot out of your nose during that great big sneeze just now? The ones that got all over the Shroomish and let me knock it out before it was able to hit me again?" Braixen retorted, letting out a small laugh.  
  
"Er, no..." Wil said, shaking his head before laughing himself. "But hey, that's pretty awesome! I'm starting to dig this whole 'being a Pokemon' thing, especially if it means my allergies of all things are actually helpful and not just gross."  
  
"Haha, well, I'm not so sure if that actually has anything to do with you being a Pokemon." said Braixen. "I mean, I've never shot out flaming boogers during a sneeze before, at least. But then again, I've also never seen anyone do... Whatever that thing was that you did to the first Shroomish, either. What in the world WAS that, anyhow?"  
  
"Huh?" Wil said, thinking back to try and remember what it was Braixen was talking about. "Oh, the powerbomb? That's just a wrestling move, that ain't nothing special. Well, it probably would be if I was able to do that to someone my size, but a little old Shroomish is super easy to pick up like that."  
  
"Wrestling move?" Braixen repeated quizzically. "Are those special moves that you can only learn where humans live or something? I've never heard of such things before."  
  
"Nah, wrestling don't have nothin' to do with Pokemon." Wil began, shaking his head. "Well, I mean, there ARE Pokemon wrestling leagues, but it's mainly a human thing. The thing is, and this is really hard to explain to someone who's never seen it, wrestling is... Well, scripted. Meaning, the attacker and attackee work together to make the moves work. They're still getting the crap beat out of them, but they have to help to person beating the crap out of them to make these moves work. I've also never actually tried to pull any of them off, I just know what I've seen them do on TV and in the video games which they always say explicitly NOT to do under any circumstances, so I don't think I'm going to be able to pull much of anything off except on tiny little things

I can pick up with ease..."  
  
"Oh, I see... Well, still, whatever it was, it worked, so maybe you should try using more of these wrestling moves." Braixen said eagerly. "At least until you're used to using actual Pokemon moves."  
  
"Uh, well, I can try." Wil replied, shrugging his shoulders. "Can't be any harder than trying to hit things with those damn Embers..."  
  
"Don't worry, Wil, you'll get better, trust me. I couldn't hit the broad side of a Snorlax when I first started using it." Braixen said encouragingly, chuckling as she thought back to her own struggles with her fire attacks. "But hey, that doesn't matter, what matters is that you managed to beat a Pokemon all on your own, just like I knew you could! If you can keep that up, we'll be golden!"  
  
"Thanks, Brai, but that was still just a Shroomish." Wil said, holding his hand up and shaking his head. "I still don't know what I'm going to do if and when we have to deal with any Water or Ground types... Or hell, even against something that just doesn't burn easily."  
  
"Gosh, you take compliments as well as I do, don't you?" Brai said, smirking. "Don't stress yourself about that right now, Wil, just focus on the task at hand. We shouldn't have to deal with any Pokemon here that aren't weak to our attacks besides the Scraggy we're after, so by the time we have to deal with anything worse, you'll be just as competent at battling as I am, I'm sure. Trust me, already!"  
  
"Oh, I do, Brai, I'm sorry." Wil said with chagrin. "It's just... I don't trust myself, is all."  
  
"Well, _I_ do, so I suppose that'll just have to do until you do too, teehee!" Braixen replied, giggling. "But anyways, we should probably get a move on. We don't know how long that Scraggy's going to hang around, after all."  
  
Nodding in agreement, Wil regrouped with Braixen, and the duo set back off on their way.  
  
\---  
  
"God, I hope this floor's not as long as the last two were..." Wil groaned, taking a moment to bend down and rub his sore feet once he and Braixen had emerged from the stairway. "I mean, geez, we literally took twenty minutes to arrive at a stairway that was like, ONE ROOM away from where we started! Are you SURE you don't want to lead?"  
  
"No, that just happens sometimes. I would've ended up leading us the same way, I'm sure." Braixen said, shrugging as she too took the opportunity to squat down and give her legs a brief rest. "But look on the bright side, Wil, at least we were able to get a lot more training in on the way. You're already getting way better with your aim!"  
  
"Pfah, as if." Wil said, flapping his lips together. "I hit like, two Oddish and a sleeping Hoppip. And I _MISSED_ the Hoppip. _**TWICE!**_ Hhhhhhhh, I think I may actually be getting _worse_ the more I try."  
  
"Oh, nonsense. The only way to improve is with experience, Wil." Braixen said simply. "Trust me, if you saw how bad I was at hitting things when I first started, you'd consider yourself a sharpshooter."  
  
"If you say so, Brai..." Wil said, sighing as he stood back up and stretched. "So, you're sure all those orbs and wands and seeds and whatnot we've picked up so far won't help us get to the stairs any faster, right?"  
  
Braixen shook her head as she copied Wil's actions. "Nope. The orbs and wands we picked up are mostly only good in battle, and the Reviver Seeds are emergency use only in case either of us get knocked out. It's actually a really bad idea to go into a Mystery Dungeon without a couple, so we're lucky we found them."  
  
"You know, that sounds like it means we're to _expect_ to get knocked out at least once a dungeon." Wil stated uneasily.  
  
"No, no, of course not, Wil!" Braixen chastised. "All I meant was that it's only common sense to have some just in case. We're also breaking common sense laws by not having any apples or berries with us to replenish our hunger and health, but it's not like we're likely to find any of those... Around... Here..."  
  
Braixen's words quickly trailed off as her gaze caught sight of something that distracted her.  
  
"H-Hold on."  
  
Braixen suddenly took off towards whatever it was that had caught her gaze, catching Wil off guard.  
  
"W-Wha? Hey, w-wait up, Brai!"  
  
As Wil scrambled after her, he glanced curiously at the ground in front of where she had stopped, eager to figure out what it was that had grabbed Braixen's attention so entrancingly.  
  
"Is... Is that food?" Wil asked, letting out a small gasp as he stared down alongside Braixen at the small but still delicious looking blue berry that lay at their feet.  
  
Reaching down to pick it up, Braixen's eyes widened as she brought it up to her face, a huge smile breaking out across her face. "Yeah... Yeah, it is! Do you... Do you know what this means, Wil?!"  
  
"We aren't going to starve to death tonight?" Wil guessed.  
  
"No!" Braixen exclaimed loudly, quickly shaking her head as she realized what she had said. "I mean, yes, that, but more important than that, Wil, this Oran Berry being here means that this forest still has some fruit left, at least on this floor and above!"  
  
"Oh." Wil replied, nodding absentmindedly until he remembered what Braixen had told him about the food crisis that had been going on in the area. "Oh! Shoot, for real?!"  
  
"Yeah!" Braixen replied excitedly, digging through their carrying case until she found the small berry pouch she had stuck in it before they left, dropping the berry in it. "Wil, I know I said we shouldn't take too long, but... We really need to see if we can find any more food while we have the chance, you don't _want_ to know how hard it's been for me to find ANYTHING lately."  
  
"So you mean, even if we find the stairs then, you want us to stay on this floor until we've yoinked as much food as we can find, right?"  
  
"Yes." Braixen replied, a twinge of regret on her face. "I'm sorry, Wil, I know it's a pain, and I know we've spent way more time than we've had to walking around as it is so far, but... I just... I don't want the kids to have to go to bed hungry like I had to do so many times when I was young... And I don't want you or me to go to bed hungry either, of course. I don't have anything left for any of us to eat right now, and even if Anny and Krook are nice enough to get us all food tonight, we won't have anything for tomorrow or beyond, and if we don't get enough Poke to buy any, which we won't with the pitiful amount we've picked up in here so far, then... Then I..."  
  
"Hey, no worries Brai, I understand completely." Wil responded eagerly, his stomach rumbling at the prospect of actually having something to eat once they got out of there. "I'm down with anything that keeps us fat and content!"  
  
"...Thanks, Wil." Braixen replied gratefully, before letting out a small, bemused laugh as she glanced at her and Wil's easily visible ribcages. "'Keep us fat', though? I don't know about that, calling either of us fat is like calling a Lickitung beautiful."  
  
"Well, there ARE some strange, _strange_ people in this world, Brai." Wil said with a grin. 'But I digress. Let's get to pickin' before my stomach convinces me that they _are_ beautiful, in a 'boy that sure would be beautiful drenched in butter and stuffed with potatoes' way."  
  
\---  
  
"Well, that could have gone better..."  
  
Braixen let out a disheartened sigh as she and Wil made it up the last flight of stairs. The two had spent nearly a half an hour searching high and low for any more food, but had hardly anything to show for it other than a few more bruises and even emptier bellies. Their grand haul consisted of five berries and an apple, and they might have been able to find more, if it hadn't been for the strange, sinister wind that started blowing near the end of their search, the ominous feeling it gave both of them convincing the duo backtrack to the stairs posthaste.  
  
"Aw, don't let it get you down, Brai." Wil said, giving her shoulder a squeeze. "There'll be a lot more where that came from once we pass this dumb old test. We'll be rollin' in the dosh, we'll have so much food we won't know what to do with it!"  
  
Braixen knew better than to be so naive, but also knew that Wil didn't, so she quickly picked her spirits back up and smiled at him, thankful he cared enough to at least try to cheer her up. "Yeah, I'm sure you're right, Wil."  
  
Wil smiled back, happy he was able to make his friend smile instead of worry like he'd been doing the entire trip. His expression soon changed to one of confusion, however. "Say, what floor are we on now, anyway?"  
  
"...Um... Six, I think." Braixen answered after a moment of wracking her brain. "Oh! That means we're close, the Scraggy's supposed to be on this floor, right?"  
  
"Yeah, I think so." Wil replied, digging through their item case for the wanted poster the Chief had given them. "Let's see... 'Wanted: Hoodlum Scraggy. Crime: Vandalism. Reward: 150 Poke. Last seen in Lakeside Forest, Floor 6.' Yep, this'd be that floor, then. Huh, you know, that's kind of odd. I mean, who was the person who 'last saw' this dude here, and why didn't they just-"  
  
 _ **GRRRAAAAAAAAWWW**_  
  
"W-W-W-What the heck?!" Wil's head whipped around behind him, the sound of a deep, ferocious growl distracting him from his odd musings. Curiously, the only other Pokemon in the room with him was Braixen, and there didn't appear to be any pathway in the direction where the terrifying cry permeated from. "D-D-D-Did you hear that just now, B-Brai?!"  
  
"H-Huh?" Braixen looked back at Wil dumbfoundedly for a moment, before shrugging halfheartedly and motioning to the treeline behind her. "O-Oh, yeah, I think whatever it was, it came from somewhere back in the deep woods..."  
  
Wil's eyes grew as wide as saucers as he glanced back into the treeline. "Oh god, let's get out of dodge then before it decides it wants to come out and stretch its legs... Or jaws."  
  
"G-Good idea." Braixen agreed, nodding rapidly as she helped Wil pack their case back up. Without wasting another second, the two booked it down the only corridor visible, and soon came to a rather large clearing, one that reminded Wil of the one where he and Braixen 'fought' the berry thieves in Blackout Forest.  
  
"Shoot, I don't have a good feeling about this place either, Brai..." Wil whispered, shuddering as he couldn't decide which was worse between this room and the last one.  
  
"Yeah, this has to be where that Scraggy is hiding." Braixen whispered back, grabbing a hold of her stick in anticipation.  
  
As the two slowly and carefully made their way to the center of the room, they soon caught sight of their target, fidgeting about nervously with his back turned to them in front of a particularly large tree at the other end of the clearing.  
  
"Man, what a scrawny looking little punk. And he's all alone, too." Wil stated, grinning confidently as he surmised the situation. "This should be a piece of cake, even if I can't hit for spit."  
  
"It looks easy, but don't let your guard down, Wil." Braixen cautioned. "Mama Kangaskhan used to tell us all the time that the most dangerous opponent you can have is the one that you underestimate. Just... Be prepared, Wil."  
  
"For what, Brai?" Wil asked, leering unconcernedly at the Scraggy. "That dude's having trouble just keeping his pants from falling down, and all he's done is vandalize a building. What in the world could he do to us?"  
  
Hearing the commotion behind him, the Scraggy turned around and nearly (literally) jumped out of his skin at the sight of Wil and Braixen staring him down, both of them looking like they meant business.  
  
"Oh, sh-sh-sh-shoot, w-w-w-w-w-what was it I was sup-p-p-p-posed to do again?" the Scraggy stuttered to himself, hiking his pants up to his chin as he twitched about nervously. "O-Oh, th-th-th-that's right!"  
  
"What's he muttering about...?" Braixen mumbled under her breath as her ears picked up the Scraggy's solo conversation.  
  
Without any further warning, the Scraggy suddenly let out an ear piercing screech, one which echoed horrifically throughout the clearing, causing Braixen and Wil to completely lose their concentration as they clamped their hands over their ears and shut their eyes in pain. Even after the screeching stopped, their ears continued to ring, and it wasn't until they opened their eyes that they noticed that the room had changed considerably in that short time.  
  
Mainly, the small army of Scrafties and Scraggies that had poured out from the treeline and were now surrounding them.  
  
"...You know, I... I really don't like these big ass clearing so far, Brai..." Wil whimpered, as the two hastily took up a back-to-back fighting stance. "We're already oh-for-two in the whole 'not falling into traps' category in them..."  
  
"Geez..." Braixen let out an exasperated sigh. "So much for a simple training mission..."  
  
"D-D-D-Did I d-d-do good, b-big bro?" came the voice of the original Scraggy, casting an eager, hopeful look towards one of the Scrafties that were leering menacingly at Braixen and Wil. "I d-d-d-d-d-did j-just what you s-s-said to d-d-d-do, r-right?"  
  
"...Yeah, I guess so." the Scrafty replied after a moment, certainly not sounding very impressed by his younger sibling's performance. "Coulda done without you tweakin' like a punk ass bitch the whole time, though."  
  
"O-Oh..." the Scraggy's face became downcast for a moment, before quickly resuming its hopeful gaze. "B-B-But I c-can always g-g-get better at... N-N-Not doing th-that, bro. D-Did I p-p-p-pass? C-Can I j-j-j-join you g-guys yet?"  
  
"Don't get ahead of yourself, little bro." the Scrafty sneered, casting a cold glare Wil and Braixen's way. "First you need to prove yourself. You need to help us teach the fuzz a lesson, bro, that they don't mess with our gang. You see, these two fresh young scrubs are going to serve as an example to the fine, upstanding Detective's Guild that no one busts one of our boys without us takin' something from them in return. And you get to be the one to send them that message, baby bro!"  
  
"I-I-I-I do?" the Scraggy asked, the eagerness in his eyes beginning to give way for something else entirely.  
  
The Scrafty nodded, a malicious, crooked-toothed grin spreading across his face. "That's right bro, consider this your last initiation test. You beat the snot outta those two detective dips, and you can join our gang."  
  
"A-A-A-Ah, r-really?!" the Scraggy gasped, his eyes lighting up as his brother nodded in confirmation. As he turned his gaze back towards Braixen and Wil, however, that light soon faded, instantly replaced with the same look of fear that had been steadily building as his brother spoke. Nervously, he took a few steps forward towards the team, being egged on by the rest of the gang that surrounded them.  
  
"Wait, are these guys serious?" Wil whispered to Braixen as the obviously uncomfortable Scraggy slowly drew near them. "All these goons, and they're gonna make the _kid_ fight?"  
  
Braixen glanced back at Wil with disgust in her eyes. "Yeah, something tells me they aren't expecting him to win... And I also doubt they're gonna just up and leave if we beat him. What a despicable bunch of punks, using a little kid to do their dirty work for them."  
  
"You got somethin' to say, princess?" the leader Scrafty called out, catching the look of utter disdain that she was giving him. "Better make it good, 'cause it's gonna be the last thing you ever say!"  
  
"Yeah, as a matter of fact, I do." Braixen retorted, sparing no amount of venom in her words. "Where the hell do you guys get off, _you_ in particular, manipulating a little kid, your own BROTHER, for the love of Arceus, to put himself in harm's way and get himself in trouble with the authorities for some empty promise of leading him down the same rotten, dead end path that your dumb ass stumbled down?"  
  
"W-Whoa now, d-do we really want them getting any more pissed off at us than they already are, Brai?" Wil whispered in a slight panic, nudging his partner as the menacing stares of all the Scrafties and Scraggies surrounding them turned all the more murderous with every word out of Braixen's mouth.  
  
"It doesn't matter, Wil." she responded clearly, not unlocking her eyes from the leader Scrafty's. "We're going to have to deal with them one way or the other, and we're not going to leave here empty-handed. I won't stand for seeing some poor kid being used, especially in such a disgusting way by his own sibling. If you wanna call anyone a 'punk ass bitch', then you need to look in a mirror, you piece of trash, because you'd have to be one to pull the crap you're doing right now."  
  
A collective gasp rang out amongst the circle of punks, and Braixen's words were clearing having an effect on the gang's leader, as his face contorted up in rage. It was becoming hard for Wil to tell who was losing their temper faster between him and Braixen.  
  
"Yo, ain't _NOBODY_ gonna call ME a punk ass bitch!" the Scrafty snarled, seemingly ready to launch himself at Braixen at any moment, but managing to hold back at the last second before putting another smug look on. "I'll remember that when I'm taking my turn with you, bitch."  
  
" _Jesus_..." Wil muttered, more to himself than anything. "I... I didn't know Pokemon t-talked like this..."  
  
"They don't. It's just the ones from around here." Braixen exclaimed, seemingly unphased by the Scrafty's threats. "I'm pretty sure these idiots are just copying something they saw on some human TV show back in the city."  
  
"O-Oh..." Wil stuttered, relieved, yet at the same time still disturbed to hear such things coming out of a Pokemon's mouth, regardless of whether they knew what they meant or not.  
  
"A lot of the Pokemon from Relic City love imitating things they've picked up from the abandoned human culture in the city, for whatever reason." Braixen explained, shaking her head in mild antipathy. "I mean, that's one of the reasons we have the whole detective thing going on instead of something simpler. Don't worry though, most Pokemon are nowhere near as... Delusional as these freaks are."  
  
"Oh. That's... Oh." Wil replied dumbly, trying to think of a response to sum up what he thought about it and failing. He quickly shook his head though, realizing they weren't really in a spot to be making small talk. "Er, how are we gonna deal with this, Brai? I really don't want to fight that poor kid either, he looks like he's about to piss himself with fear."  
  
"We're... Not going to, Wil." Braixen replied, suddenly wincing for a split second, before shaking her head resolutely and locking her eyes with the terrified ones of the Scraggy, her expression softening considerably. "Hey, wait up, kid. Stop and think for a moment, is this _really_ something you want to be doing? Or are you just doing this to make your brother happy?"  
  
"I... I-I..." the Scraggy stopped in place, quivering like a leaf in a hurricane as he looked wide-eyed between Braixen and his brother, their expressions polar opposites of each other. "N-N-N-No, I w-w-w-wanna d-do this... I-I... I d-don't wanna b-be a wimp... I w-wanna be cool like my b-b-b-big bro..."  
  
"Oh, so this is what cool guys do now, is it? Set ambushes for Pokemon that are trying to make life less dangerous for innocent Pokemon who can't fend for themselves?" Braixen exclaimed. "Yeah, you guys are just so radical, ganging up on us like this, you know you're a real tough guy when you need ten Pokemon to deal with a couple of first-timers like us. _So_ badass." She rolled her eyes in disdain, before looking at the kid pleadingly. "Is this truly the kind of life you want to lead? Do you REALLY want to hurt innocent Pokemon for stupid, petty reasons, if any reason at all?"  
  
The Scraggy stood rooted in place, shaking his head over and over again as he looked back and forth between Braixen and his brother, at a complete loss of what to say or do.  
  
"Don't listen to her, bro, she don't know nothin' about what we've been through, what we've had to deal with!" the Scrafty snarled, not at all pleased by Braixen's attempts to coax his brother away.  
  
"There's nothing you could've gone through that would make what you're doing seem right or just in any way." Braixen scoffed. "You're nothing but a bunch of lowlife thugs who get your jollies off by picking on the weak and helpless. You're so weak you couldn't even take on an actual Detective Team, you had to get your own little brother to do your crap for you so they'd send someone weak and inexperienced after you. You made a big mistake, though. You see, we aren't the weak and inexperienced team you were expecting to show up. We're more than good enough to kick your sorry butts, even if you may think you have the advantage due to numbers." Sending her gaze back to the kid, she stared intently. "Now, do you REALLY want to go through with this, kid? And don't just say what your brother wants you to say, speak for yourself! How... How would your parents feel if they knew you were doing this?"  
  
The Scraggy's eyes widened even further, then he quickly shut them and cringed ashamedly.  
  
"Hey!" the Scrafty suddenly barked before the Scraggy could respond. "You don't say a damn thing about our parents! They didn't have no say in this, they didn't have no CHANCE to!"  
  
"O-Oh..." Braixen grimaced, regretting bringing the subject up. Still, she realized she had struck a nerve, and decided to push further. "Well, do you think they'd be proud of you, seeing what you've made of yourself, and what you're trying to force your brother into doing?"  
  
"YOU SHUT YOUR MOUTH!" the Scrafty bellowed in rage. "YOU DON'T GET TO SAY ANYTHING ABOUT THEM, YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY HAD TO PUT UP WITH, WHAT _WE_ HAVE HAD TO PUT UP WITH OUR WHOLE LIVES! TREATED LIKE TRASH WHEREVER WE GO BECAUSE OF THE THINGS PEOPLE THINK WE ARE! IT'S... It's only fair that we treat everyone back they same way!"  
  
"...B-B-B-But..." the Scraggy finally spoke up, after a tense few seconds of total silence. "I... I d-don't think they w-wanted us to d-d-d-do this, b-bro..."  
  
"Gah, what the hell are you saying, bro?!" the Scrafty yelled, glaring at Braixen with contempt. "Don't let this bitch get into your head, she doesn't know jack about us!"  
  
"N-N-N... I kn-know, bro, b-b-but..." the Scraggy shook his head defiantly, shaking the tears from his eyes. "M-Mom and dad... Th-This is what they all thought th-they were like... E-Everyone thought they were b-bad Pokemon, but... Th-They weren't... W-Why are we acting like... Like what they think we're like?"  
  
The Scrafty folded his arms and shut his eyes, the sheer bitterness in his voice readily evident. "Because... This is how we're supposed to act, bro. This is what our species does, according to everyone else. We're Dark types, after all. We're always up to no good. So... We might as well live up to their expectations!"  
  
"W-What? What the hell kind of backwards thinking is that?" Wil piped up, scrunching up his face in annoyance. "You're gonna let what other people think of you decide how you really are? That's retar-er, sorry, that's really, really dumb. God, you really ARE a bunch of punk ass bitches. If someone says you're a piece of crap the moment they meet you, you go out of your way to DEFY those expectations, you don't just say 'oh okay' and act that way! Don't let assholes win, don't give them the satisfaction of knowing they were 'right'!"  
  
The Scrafty shook his head and let out a growl, stomping the ground and returning his glare to Braixen and Wil. "God, why don't you both just shut up already?! Neither of you have any right to tell us how we should act! In fact, I'm gettin' plain SICK of listening to you! You're dead meat, both of ya! Bro, you either prove to me you're a REAL Scraggy and teach these two losers a lesson, or get out of our way so WE can!"  
  
The Scraggy stayed rooted in place, trembling terribly as his eyes continued to dart back and forth between his brother's intimidating gaze and Braixen's pleading look as if he were watching a tennis match played by a pack of Ninjasks on X Speed,  
  
"COME ON ALREADY, BRO!"  
  
"...Nngh... I'm... I'm sorry..."  
  
The Scraggy rushed ahead, tears streaming in his eyes.  
  
Reaching his brother, he clamped onto his leg, clinging onto him with a deathgrip.  
  
"W-What the hell are you doing, bro?!" the Scrafty spat, trying in vain to shake his brother off of him.  
  
"P-Please, stop this, brother!" the Scraggy cried, shaking his head rapidly as he buried his face into his brother's side. "Th-They're right, mom and dad... This... This isn't the way they wanted us to live!"  
  
The Scrafty looked down at his brother in utter disdain as he forcefully pushed him off. "Oh, for the love of... I can't believe you, bro! You of all people should know! We have no other choice! It's either this, or starve to death! Nobody else gives two craps about us other than ourselves, we HAVE to do these things to survive!"  
  
"No, you don't!" Braixen cried out. "Listen, we're in the same boat as you! I mean... No, we haven't had to deal with as much grief as you guys, but... I know what it's like to go hungry. I've felt the cold, condescending eyes of other Pokemon as you beg for food to feed your family with. But what you're doing, that's not the answer!"  
  
"SHUT UP! ALL OF YOU, JUST _**SHUT THE HELL UP**_!" the Scrafty screamed, his wild-eyed rage falling upon his brother. "You... You're no brother of mine." And then, turning to Wil and Braixen. "And you... You guys are history. GET THEM!"  
  
"Oh balls." Wil seethed, glancing expectantly at his partner as he reassumed his fighting stance, the Scrafties and Scraggies beginning to close in around the two. "S-So, w-what's the gameplan, Brai?"  
  
"..."  
  
"...B-Brai?"  
  
Not daring to take his eyes off of the Pokemon closing in on his side, Wil nonetheless caught a glimpse of his partner's face out of the corner of his eye, and he was alarmed to see that she appeared to be wincing.  
  
"I... Hngh..." Braixen, though doing her absolute best to stay standing, was beginning to crumple, clutching onto her stomach with her free hand as her face soon turned into a full-on grimace.  
  
"B-Brai, what's wrong?! Are you okay?!" Wil exclaimed in a panic once he caught a clearer sight of his partner's state.  
  
"N-N... I'm... F-Fine..." Braixen responded, though she looked and sounded anything but.  
  
"A-Are you sure?" Wil asked fretfully. "Because you really don't-"  
  
 _ **GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWW**_  
  
Wil jumped in shock as he heard the same ferocious growl from earlier, though this time, he could tell exactly where it had come from.  
  
"No... N-Not now..." Braixen whimpered, dropping her stick as she doubled over in pain.  
  
"G-Gah, Brai!" Wil cried, as he rushed to kneel beside his now prone partner. "W-What's the matter?! W-W-Was that your stomach just now?!"  
  
"...S-Sorry... Wil..." she groaned. "I... Thought I could... Handle it..."  
  
"O-Oh god..." Wil whimpered, looking up in alarm as the Scrafties and Scraggies drew ever closer, the leader letting out a smug laugh as he watched.  
  
"Nyehehe, I knew you weren't nothin' but talk!" he sneered, his lips curling into a leering grin. "This is gonna be easy pickin's!"  
  
"G-Gah, h-hold on, Brai!" Wil cried, doing his best to ignore the Scrafty's taunts as he fumbled nervously with their item case.  
  
"N-No..." Braixen said weakly, knowing what Wil was trying to do. "Reviver Seeds... Won't work on an empty belly... And that food is... Not mine to eat..."  
  
Wil's eyes bulged in incredulousness at Braixen's words. "W-What?! Brai, c-come on, if we don't get out of here, this food ain't ever gonna reach the kids! Please, I... I can't do this on my own, Brai! ...Brai?!"  
  
Wil soon realized Brai could no longer hear him, having passed out completely from hunger. A massive, deathly wave of dread made its way through his body, bigger than any he had felt in his life by far.  
  
"...God... W-What do I do now...?" Wil whimpered hopelessly to himself, looking vainly to the sky in the hopes that someone might hear him and give him some sort of answer.  
  
As it were, he didn't even have time to wait for a response, as the Scrafty gang suddenly rushed towards him in a flourish, seemingly picking up on his weakness.  
  
"F-F-F-F-" Wil stuttered in mind-rending fear, his voice getting caught in his throat as his and Braixen's deaths closed in around them. His eyes darting around, they landed on the still open item case, and without even thinking, grabbed a hold of one of the blue, translucent orbs he and Braixen had picked up along the way, and hurled it like a baseball at the nearest Scrafty. It shattered on impact, releasing... _Something_ into the air. Wil couldn't really tell what it was, some sort of... Mist, perhaps? All he knew was, one moment, he was inches away from being killed. The next...  
  
Everyone else in the room was suddenly asleep, stopped dead in their tracks as they all fell over one at a time, crashing to the ground into a deep slumber.  
  
"...W-What the...?" Wil spoke, swallowing back the bile that was threatening to escape from his throat as he surveyed the suddenly sleeping battlefield, the only sound to be heard being that of his heavily pounding heart.  
  
"A-Ah, f... N-Now what?!" he cried in frustration, trying to keep his mind from succumbing to total panic as he struggled to figure out a course of action. He couldn't leave Brai's side... Even if she was sure the Scrafty didn't mean his threats, he wasn't about to chance it. Looking back into his pack, he surveyed the remaining orbs and wands that lay scattered about within it, cursing himself for not knowing what the odd Pokemon language that was written on them meant, and wishing more than anything that Brai was able to help him. As one of the Scrafties began to stir, his mind jolted, and he realized he had to do something fast.  
  
"W-Well... If it worked once..."  
  
Wil scooped the remaining orbs out with both arms, then waiting for the Scrafty's leader to stir, he started tossing them at him, one after the other.  
  
Unfortunately, none of them seemed to have any effect, and slowly, the Scrafty and Scraggy awoke, one by one.  
  
"GOD DAMN IT!" Wil cursed, his anger beginning to outweigh his fear at the fact that not ONE of the remaining orbs seemed to do anything whatsoever. Glancing down at his Detective's Badge, his mind thought back to what the Chief had said about them, about how they would instantly warp himself and Brai out of a dungeon in case of an emergency...  
  
...And also about how if he did that, they might as well kiss their hopes of becoming a Detective Team goodbye.  
  
 _"...No. I... I can't run away."_ Wil thought, shaking his head as he did his best to steady his fraying nerves. _"I'm not... I'm not gonna give up. Brai wouldn't give up, she wouldn't let me give up... She believes in me_ _..._ _I... I have to believe in me too. There's no other choice... I have to win, no matter what. I can do this. I don't know how... But I will."_

 

As the gang members once again began to rush towards him, Wil's instincts took over. Reaching into the case, he grasped a wand in each hand, then began to wave them violently in the directions of the encroaching Pokemon. Some fell back asleep as the wand's powers reached them. Others disappeared, warping to the far corners of the clearing. Once those wands had been used up, Wil tossed them at the oncoming Pokemon and grabbed two more wands. One didn't seem to do anything, but the other one sent the Pokemon it hit into a confusion, causing them to start attacking each other and give Wil a bit of breathing room. Once it had run out of juice, Wil tossed it and grabbed the last remaining one... Which also did nothing.  
  
Wil took a quick glance at the state of things around him, all of his ammo depleted. At least half of the gang members seemed to be preoccupied with either fighting each other or sleeping, but four of them remained, including the leader, and they all marched towards him in anger.  
  
"Well, crap." Wil said, sighing and letting out a small, humorless chuckle as the hopelessness of the situation once again dawned on him. Grabbing the small handful of Reviver Seeds they had accumulated, Wil shut the item case... And began brandishing it as a makeshift weapon. "Not quite a steel chair, but it'll have to do. COME AND GET ME, YOU BUNCH OF PUNK _ASS_ _ **BITCHES**_!"  
  
Wil managed to catch the first one clean in the head with the case, leaving a sizable dent in it as he swung at and missed the second one, giving it time to low kick him and send him crashing to the ground. His adrenaline pumping, Wil ignored the pain and quickly scrambled back to his feet before the remaining three had a chance to gang up on him. He began to throw wild punches and kicks, catching one of the Scrafties with an elbow and (completely incidentally) slashing the leader right across the face, causing him to recoil in pain momentarily. Seeing the state their boss was in, the other two Scrafties quickly swooped in, one of them grabbing Wil from behind and pinning his arms above his head, while the other one began to use him as a kicking bag.  
  
Struggle as he may, he couldn't escape, as kick after kick rained into him, pummeling him to the point where he began to cough up blood. The adrenaline beginning to wear off, he started to fade out of consciousness... Until he caught sight of Braixen's still prone body. His anger boiling, he welled up everything he had left in him and waited until the attacking Scrafty was about to hit him in the gut again, then let loose with a massive, scorching fireball that hit the Scrafty at point blank range, sending him careening back to the forest floor, totally charred and defeated. Taking advantage of the other Scrafty's shock, he began to scramble madly with his numbing hands, managing to grab a hold of the Scrafty's mohawk, then forcing his hands downwards until he had them clinched around the back of its neck, then in one swift motion, he stomped as hard as he could on the Scrafty's foot, yanked his arms downward, and kicked his own legs out from under him, sending himself and the scrafty crashing downwards in a stunning, cutting motion.  
  
"Ow... That... Was dumb..." Wil groaned, wincing as a sharp pain shot up from his tailbone as he stumbled his way back over to Braixen. Panting heavily, and with his whole body now wracked in pain, he realized that he didn't have much left in his tank... And looking out around him, he could see that the rest of the gang was beginning to recover from their wand-induced debilitations, and were staring him down angrily.  
  
None of them more angrily than the leader, who caught Wil by surprise with a crunching, brutal sucker punch that sent him sprawling to the ground next to Braixen.  
  
" **YOU THINK YOU CAN DO THIS TO ME AND GET AWAY WITH IT?!** " the Scrafty screamed in fury, Wil catching sight for the first time of just how much damage his incidental slash had done to the Scrafty's face and recoiling in revulsion. Three deep, horizontal gashes now decorated the Scrafty's already unpleasant mug, coating it in a fresh crimson mask as the wounds continued to drip down his face, despite the Scrafty's best efforts to stop it.  
  
"O-Oh god, d-did I do that...?" Wil mumbled woozily, his equilibrium still not all there as he recovered from the Scrafty's sudden clocking.  
  
The Scrafty, rather than answer Wil's obvious question, bent down and yanked him back to his feet, holding him in place by his neck with one hand as he raised up his other fist, coughing a sickly green, viscous liquid onto his claws, the blood dripping from his face mixing with it and making it all the more vile.  
  
"I hope you like the feeling of the slow, toxic death you're about to receive." the Scrafty said, grinning maniacally at Wil, his face contorting to even more nightmarish proportions. "Writhing on the ground in agony, your face and guts spilled out before you as the poison slowly but surely tears you apart from the inside, all the while watching helplessly as I do despicable, unspeakable things to your little girlfriend. And I am going to enjoy each and every second of it."  
  
Wil tried to break free. He squirmed, and struggled, and kicked, and clawed at the Scrafty's trapping grip. But... It was no use. He had no more energy to expend. His own stomach was beginning to throb, both from hunger and from all the punches it had endured, His muscles had nothing left to give, his last ditch makeshift attack causing him just as much pain and damage as it did his opponent. He couldn't even work up enough energy for one last Ember attack, having spent it all on his last hellacious fireball. The only thing he had left to give, the only thing he could manage to eke out at all, was his own spit.  
  
And so he used it. One last act of defiance, in the vain hope that it might distract the Scrafty enough to loosen his grip enough for him to escape and do... Something. He didn't know what, though. The rest of the Scrafty had all made it back to their senses, and were now all within arms length of him and Braixen.  
  
It didn't matter regardless, the spit did the opposite of what Wil had hoped, mixing in with the Scrafty's bloody, destroyed face and stinging it, causing the Scrafty to squeeze that much more, choking away what little life Wil had left in him. As he drifted out of consciousness, his eyes fell to Braixen, and he let out a plaintive, sputtering sob.  
  
"...All... My fault... So sorry... Brai..."  
  
" **NOW LET'S SEE HOW YOU LIKE HAVING HALF OF A FACE!** "  
  
Wil shut his eyes and waited for the pain.  
  
...And waited.  
  
...And waited still.  
  
"...W-Wha... What the hell...?!"  
  
Wil... Really didn't want to open his eyes. But the Scrafty's sudden, panic-stricken voice had raised his curiosity.  
  
Well, as did the fact that his face was still attached to his skull, of course.  
  
Peeking his eye open ever so tentatively, as his blurry, teary vision returned, all he could see in front of him was a leathery, dark red blob with black splotches on it. Whatever it was, it was mere inches in front of his face, but it was so close it was all he could make out. The mounting questions that began to race through his mind were quickly answered, however, as he heard a familiar, gruff voice boom out from right behind him.  
  
"Hey now, don'tcha know it's just bad manners to tear someone's face off without askin' 'em first? And Anny, I don't think I heard him ask the poor kid anything at all, did you?"  
  
 _"K-Krook...?"_  
  
"No, I can't say I did, Krook. But then again, I wasn't really paying much attention to what he was saying, I was too busy trying to keep the poor dear's face from actually, you know, being ripped off?"  
  
 _"Anny?!"_  
  
Wil's eyes shot fully open as he turned his head to see if he was imagining things, the Scrafty's grip having loosened considerably..  
  
"Aw, shush, Anny, you know I wasn't gonna let anything happen to the kid! I just had to build up the dramatic tension, that's all!" said Krook, flapping his lips together and giving his partner a condescending, mock hurt look.  
  
"More like you were just stumbling around half asleep still until I poked you in the butt..." Anny murmured, rolling her eyes heavily back at her friend.  
  
" _What_ was that, woman?" Krook seethed, his eyes narrowing as he glared back at the Leavanny.  
  
"Nothing at all, dear~." Anny replied smoothly, before turning her attention back to the matter at hand. "Oh, isn't that a little painful, though?"  
  
"Wha?" Krook scratched his head in confusion with his free hand until Anny pointed towards his other one, which was currently keeping the Scrafty's toxic claws from rending Wil's face, the claws actually digging into Krook's hand a fair bit. Krook, however, seemed pretty nonplussed about it, as he pushed the Scrafty back, sending it crashing into its accomplices like they were bowling pins, all of them standing in place too shocked to do anything. Taking a quick, cursory glance at his hand, which was actually looking pretty gnarly, he merely scoffed and hocked a loogie into it, rubbing it into his side before grinning back at Anny. "There, good as new."  
  
Scoffing, Anny again rolled her eyes at Krook in disgust. "Oh, honestly, Krook. You better make sure you get that looked at once we get back to town." As Krook merely laughed back at her, she decided he wasn't worth the time at the moment, and turned her attention to Wil, whom had fallen back to the ground in a heap next to Braixen as the Scrafty lost his grip on him. "Wil, I know you're hurting pretty bad, dear, so just keep Braixen safe, Krook and I will handle things from here."  
  
"...B-But..." Wil attempted to speak, his mind jumping from one bad thought to the next, but he couldn't get much out before Anny gently cut him off.  
  
"Don't worry, Wil, you and Braixen went above and beyond, you've pretty much passed your test with flying colors." she explained with a smile. "You just focus on keeping yourself and Braixen safe for the time being, and for heaven's sake, get her to eat something!"  
  
Wil looked back in shock at Anny's words, before quickly nodding in compliance. "Y-Yes, ma'am..."  
  
As Wil wearily rummaged through his now dilapidated case for Braixen's food pouch, Anny and Krook turned their full and undivided attention towards the remaining Scrafties. Suddenly, it seemed to dawn on them that they no longer had the advantage, even with the numbers on their side.  
  
""Well, punks, it looks like it's decision time for you." Krook began, his grin growing toothier as he looked the leader square in the eye. "Youse can either come with us quietly..." Krook took extra satisfaction at cracking the knuckles on his 'bad' hand, his complete lack of pain doing an excellent job of raising the total, unbridled terror in the Scrafties' eyes. "Or you can have some more 'fun'. And ohohoho, if you thought _those kids_ were fun to play with, wait 'til you get a load of us!"  
  
The Scrafties all began to speak amongst each other at once in a massive, panicked fervor. The leader, however, wasn't quite as effected.  
  
"You... You don't scare me, old man." the Scrafty spat, his face beginning to resemble volcano bakemeat. "We ain't about to let you haul us in, because no one, and I mean NO ONE messes with our gang and gets away with it! Come on, you losers, we can still beat them if we all attack at once!"  
  
The other Scrafties looked amongst themselves tentatively, not looking particularly moved by their boss' words.  
  
"Oh, you guys are welcome to run, if you want." Krook said, noticing the tentative expressions on the gang members' faces. "I do love me a challenge, after all."  
  
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU IDIOTS WAITING FOR?! _GET THEM!_ " the leader screeched, his voice beginning to go hoarse from all the screaming he had already done.  
  
Realizing that they seemingly had no choice, the Scrafties finally complied with their bosses orders, as they all began to simultaneously launch attacks against Krook and Anny, all of which where either avoided completely or shrugged off without much reaction. Krook and Anny, meanwhile, were picking them off one by one, Krook slamming them with his tail and crushing them with his jaws, and Anny slicing them expertly with her leaf blade. It wasn't even a minute later before the rest of the Scrafties were all knocked out cold, the only one left remaining begin their leader, who had chosen not to attack at all.  
  
"My, what a noble and courageous leader you are, standin' back while all your little friends risk them well-bein' for ya." Krook proclaimed, sniggering at the leader's cowardly showing. "You sure do talk big for someone who can't fight someone without sucker punchin' 'em and havin' your boys rough 'em up first."  
  
"..." the Scrafty leader, for all of his anger and bravado, was suddenly tense and quiet, as he realized there was no one else left to back him up, and nowhere left for him to run.  
  
"Pah, you're pathetic." Krook spat, letting out a growl as he grabbed the Scrafty by the collar just as the Scrafty had done to Wil, and prepared to finish him off. "Anny, make sure those kids don't see this, 'cause it ain't gonna be pretty."  
  
"K-Krook, don't do anything you'll regret." Anny warned, aware of where her partner was going.  
  
"Oh, boo hoo." said Krook, rolling his eyes in contempt. "Ain't no one gonna cry over this piece of trash getting swept up. You saw what he was gonna do to the kid, you really want this scum to get the chance to do it again to someone else?"  
  
"Krook..." Anny looked back at her partner sternly. "Remember what the Chief said, if you do anything else out of line, we're both as good as badgeless. Is this really worth losing our livelihood over?"  
  
"...Grr..." Krook let out another low, throaty growl, as he tightened his grip on the Scrafty. "...No. But you saw what he was gonna do, Anny! You saw what they had _already_ done! What if- What if it had been a different rookie Detective Team that had gotten this mission? They wouldn't have had us there to save their asses!"  
  
"They would have had SOMEONE there to watch over them, Kroo-"  
  
"I DON'T GIVE A CRAP, ANNY! I'm sick and tired of seeing this kind of scum of the planet running rampant! How the hell- How can you not feel even stronger than I do about this?! I ain't the one whose family-"  
  
" _ **KROOK.**_ "  
  
Krook cringed in recoil, instantly regretting what he had started to say. "...Hngh, I'm sorry, Anny... I... I didn't mean to... But you know what I mean! You should hate this asshole and every single other one of these losers-for-life that we put behind bars a billion times more than I do!"  
  
"Krook, I am not going to get into this with you again, certainly not right now." Anny stated plainly, each of her words as sharp as her blade. "If you really feel the urge to destroy our lives, then fine, I am powerless to actually stop you, but I'm not letting you do it now and bring those kids down with us."  
  
Anny's piercing gaze met Krook's, and for a long time, neither of them budged. Finally, after hearing the Scrafty in his grip begin to cough and sputter from lack of oxygen, Krook relented, dropping the Scrafty to the ground with a thud.  
  
"...Whatever." Krook grumbled, almost unintelligibly.  
  
"Thank you, Krookie." Anny said, giving the surly Krookodile a loving smile, one which only served to make him scowl again. She was used to his way of reacting, however, so she merely giggled and turned her attention to the Scrafty, giving it a stern look. "As for you, I think it would be in your best interest to come with us peacefully. I may have kept Krook from ripping you in half, but we're still going to have to detain you one way or another. Please, tell me at the very least that Krook has managed to scare some sense into you so that we won't have to shed any more blood today."  
  
The Scrafty look back at her, nothing but contempt in his eyes. "Bite me, bi-"  
  
Krook didn't allow him to finish.  
  
" **THAT'S IT!** " grabbing the Scrafty much more forcefully than before, Krook dug his claws into the punk's skin, denying Anny of her wish of no more bloodshed. "YOU ASKED FOR THIS, YOU ROTTEN LITTLE BASTARD!"  
  
" **KROOK, STOP!** " Anny cried, throwing herself in between Krook and the Scrafty before he could do anything further to it.  
  
"GET THE HELL OUT OF THE WAY, ANNY! NO ONE CALLS YOU THAT WHILE I'M AROUND!"  
  
"KROOK, LET HIM GO. _**NOW.**_ "  
  
The fierceness in Anny's gaze far outstripped any that Krook could hope to muster. It took only a moment before Krook faltered under it, releasing the Scrafty once more.  
  
"...Well, what do you wanna do with the idiot, then?" Krook scowled, not letting the punk out of his sight.  
  
"Well, we brought the restraints with us, didn't we?" Anny responded simply, her composure already returned.  
  
"Yeah, probably..." muttered Krook, as he slung the case from his back and popped it open, then began to dig through its many, messy innards to find the restraints Anny had mentioned.  
  
The Scrafty took this one moment of distraction to make a break for it. Before either Krook or Anny had a chance to react, the punk bolted.  
  
"W-WAIT, SON OF A BITCH!" Krook snarled, knocking his case over and spilling all of its contents onto the forest floor, which only served to cause another string of expletives to escape from his lips.  
  
"Krook, forget about him, don't let any of our orbs roll away and break!" Anny said, as she quickly followed her own orders and began scooping up as many as she could before giving Krook an annoyed glance. "Gah, why can't you just put things back in their proper compartments? This is what happens when you just shove things anywhere like you're so wont to do!"  
  
"Ah, stuff it, Anny, it ain't my fault, it's that punk's!" Krook whined, pointing an angry, accusatory finger in the direction the Scrafty took off in. "And also, we're just letting him get away?! WHY?!"  
  
"Krook, just shut up and help me pick up your mess!" shot Anny, not in the mood to take anymore of Krook's lip.  
  
While Krook was ill-prepared to stop the punk, there was one last Pokemon standing between the Scrafty and his freedom.  
  
"W-What the hell do you think you're doing?!" the Scrafty cried out in anger in confusion at the young Scraggy that had reattached itself to his leg, preventing him from completing his escape.  
  
"Big brother... Don't..." the Scraggy looked up at his brother, his face smeared with tears. "You... You weren't really gonna k-kill that guy, were you...?"  
  
"..." the Scrafty stared down at his brother with the same amount of scorn that he afforded everyone else. "I don't have anything to say to you. I told you, you ain't no brother to me no more. Now get the hell out of my way before I do to you what I was gonna do to him!"  
  
Whimpering, the Scraggy released his grip from his older sibling, and the Scrafty hastily pushed past him, taking only a moment to look back to see if any of the detectives had caught up with him, before disappearing off through the treeline into the deep woods, leaving his younger brother sniffling and shivering all by himself.  
  
"...There, that's the last damn one of your precious orbs." Krook spat, shoving his haul into the case.  
  
"Krook!" Anny chided, putting her hands on her hips. "What did I _just_ get through telling you about not just shoving things in there all willy nilly like that?"  
  
"Pfft, hell if I know, I wasn't listening." Krook lied, rolling his eyes as he got busy rounding up the remaining Scrafty and Scraggy gang members and tying them up nice and tight together with his and Anny's official detective restraints.  
  
"Ooh, Krook..." Anny scowled, giving her partner a downright dirty look, which Krook easily laughed off.  
  
"Well, I s'pose this'll haveta do." said Krook, as he plopped the bound up gang in front of Anny as if they were some sort of present. "At least we won't be leavin' empty handed, if nothin' else..."  
  
"Of course, but just remember, Krookie, these ones count towards _their_ bounty count, not ours." Anny stated, giving Krook an altogether too pleased with herself look.  
  
"Peh... Yeah, yeah..." Krook muttered, folding his arms and looking not at all pleased with himself.  
  
"Um, no, you guys don't have to do that..."  
  
Anny and Krook both turned in surprise as Wil and Braixen, both so weak they had to lean on each other to support themselves, stumbled over to them.  
  
"Yeah, you guys knocked almost all of these guys out." Wil said, agreeing with Braixen. "If anyone should get the credit, it should be you. Besides, we didn't technically catch who we were after, anyways..."  
  
"Though, that's a good thing, really." Braixen added, glad that at least the poor Scraggy child was able to escape unscathed. She couldn't help but let out a sigh at how the mission had gone, though, and the sentiment was echoed by Wil. "I really screwed up, didn't I?" she muttered hopelessly, shaking her head in shame. "I'm sorry, Wil, I can't believe I was so stupid as to put you into such an awful position... I completely failed you as a partner, after all that stuff I told you about trusting yourself, and in the end it was _me_ you couldn't trust..."  
  
"Aw, stop it, Brai." Wil said, shaking his head but sounding just as defeated as his partner. "What happened was more of my own fault than anything else. I'm the idiot that made you waste all your energy fighting every single bug we came across, it's my fault you ran out of energy in the first place! If I weren't so weak and could actually hit my attacks, you wouldn't have had to hold my hand the whole way and I would've been able to deal with those stupid Scrafties without Anny and Krook having to save our sorry tails... If anyone failed as a partner, it was me, Brai..."  
  
"Oh Arceus, not this again..." Krook muttered in annoyance in anticipation of another passive aggressive anti-argument.  
  
"Wil, no, don't say that." Braixen replied, shaking her head and inadvertently giving him a taste of her ear hair in the process. "Whoops, sorry... But no, you couldn't have done anything more. I was drifting in and out of consciousness, but... I saw what you did, Wil. You managed to hold all of them off by yourself for _way_ longer than I would have been able to, and you... You stayed by my side the whole time. You could have just used our Detective's Badges to escape... But you didn't. You... You literally were ready to die rather than give up on the mission..."  
  
"W-Well, I mean, you heard what the Chief said, if we ran away we wouldn't be seeing any more missions any time soon." Wil stuttered, looking down in embarrassment as he tried to get out the rest of his words. "I mean, I... The only reason I didn't do just that... Was... Was because you... Ugh, this is so dorky, but because _you_... B-Believed in me... I told you, I... I don't have any confidence in myself to do anything, but... You wouldn't have let me give up... So I didn't. A-And besides, the only reason I'm doing this at all is to help you and your kids. If I would have given up, I would have broken my promise to you, and... I won't do that. I'm one of those dumb peo-P-P-P- _Pokemon_ that believes a person's word is sacred, so... Yeah. When I give someone my word, I will do everything in my power to keep it. In other words, I am an idiot."  
  
"W-Wil..." Braixen's eyes began to tear up, and her voice caught in her throat. "Y-You're not... You're not an idiot, Wil..."  
  
"Yeah, I am." Wil replied, not taking his eyes off the ground. "I know Anny said we passed our test, but... I screwed up so bad, if Krook and Anny hadn't have been here, we would've..."  
  
"Alright, would you just shut your yap already?" Krook cut in, getting fed up with all of the sudden melodrama. "Kid, listen to me. I don't... I don't have many good things to say about anything these days, but your pal is right, you ain't no idiot. Neither of you are! I mean, yeah, you ran screaming like a little baby from a _Caterpie_ , of all things, and believe me, when I saw that, I was ready to jump out and fail you right then and there. But Braixen there, she did somethin' that surprised the hell out of me. I was sooooo waitin' for her to scream her head off at you for that ridiculousness, but... Nah, she did pretty much the complete opposite. Now I was thinkin' 'good grief, they're BOTH crazy', but... I figured if your partner was willin' to give you another chance, I might as well give you one more shot too.  
  
"And then, when you two spent a half a god damned hour lookin' for those friggin' berries, I was about ready to throttle you guys myself for makin' me an' Anny waste so much time." Krook let out a small chuckle. "But Anny... She told me just why you two were out here doin' this, and I'll admit, I wasn't payin' a damned bit of attention when you were goin' on about it on the way here. But yeah, once I found out why you guys were wastin' all our time... I realized it wasn't really much of a waste at all. Somethin' like that, that takes dedication. Even though you hardly found anything, you spent as much damn time as you could lookin' for more, all for those kids of yours...  
  
"And then, of course, there was that total fustercluck that went on in here." Krook shook his head and let out a low whistle. "I mean, I've been doin' this long enough that I know better than to ever try an' talk any sense into these scumbags, but seein' Braixen speak so impassioned-like to those mooks, talkin' that little pipsqueak out of throwin' his own life away, that was somethin' else. And then, kid, that last stand you pulled... Boy, was that ever ugly! You even ended up puttin' me an' Anny to sleep there with that damn orb, for cripes sake! But... Man, that took some balls. You really were ready to lose your own life for that girl an' her kids. And you guys just met each other yesterday! That... That's some damn loyalty right there, From both of you. She could've just given up on you when you decided to soil yourself, but she didn't. She stuck with you and talked your mopey, dopey ass up until you made yourself decent again. And you, you could've given up so many times when they were beatin' your ass, but no, you stuck with it up until the bitter end, and all because of that shlocky super power of teamwork garbage she went and fed ya! This whole mission, it may've been uglier than a two Poke Ditto, but I'll be damned if that wasn't the most inspirin' thing I've seen in all my time on this damn job. Every single time one of you stumbled, the other one was there to pick 'ya up, and I mean, hell, you're still doin' it as I speak! And if that ain't the epitome of a great Detective Team, than I don't know what is. I know I was takin' the piss outta youse guys earlier with the whole 'perfect for each other' shmozz, but... Hell, I don't think I was wrong. For someone who apparently ain't ever fought before, you could be a hell of a lot worse, kid, and your pal already has a pretty good grasp of the basics. So long as she don't go and do somethin' stupid like pass out from hunger again, and you get your aim under control and stay away from wittwe bitty bugs, I think you guys'll be just fine, so long as you got each other's back."  
  
Wil and Braixen merely stood in wide-eyed shock, glancing at each other to figure out if they had really heard what they thought they had just spew out of Krook's mouth.  
  
"...What? What're you guys lookin' at me like that for?" Krook said in annoyance, as the duo continued to just stare blankly at him. "I ain't always a mean ol' bastard. But hey, don't go thinkin' I'll ever say such hokey garbage about you guys or anything else ever again! Only reason I went outta my way to give you guys this dumb speech was just so I wouldn't have to listen to another one of your dumb 'ooh no I'm the worse Pokemon' fake reverse non-arguments, I think I might have actually legitimately thrown up if I had let you guys continue."  
  
Even though he tried to turn away, the duo could still make out the big grin Krook had on his face, and they couldn't keep the smiles from their own faces anymore, either.  
  
"S-So, does this mean...?" Braixen began, her eyes lighting up as she looked about ready to burst.  
  
"Yup! You guys passed your test, and you're now a fully fledged, official Detective Team!" Anny said happily, not even attempting to hide the joy from her face. "Well, almost, you still need the Chief's blessing, of course, but don't worry, if he doesn't let you guys join after what we have to tell him, then we'll _make_ him do it, heehee!"  
  
"Ooh, I kinda like the sound of that." Krook added, his grin spreading even wider.  
  
"Well, regardless of anything else, congratulations, you two, welcome to the Detective's Guild!"  
  
"Oh... Is... Is this really happening...?" Braixen whimpered, her eyes beginning to tear up again as she looked towards her partner for confirmation that she wasn't just dreaming this.  
  
"Well, I'd pinch myself to make sure, but I'm in so much pain that I don't think I'd be able to notice it regardless." Wil responded, smiling cheekily at Braixen before she without warning pulled him into another bone-crunching, muscle-wrending hug. "G-Gah, I t-take it back! I can still feel the pain! Augh, s-so much pain..."  
  
"Oh, thank you, Wil! Thank you so, so much!" she cried, not even noticing anything else Wil had said, her tears of joy streaming freely as she began to jump up and down in happiness, this time taking Wil with her as he had no escape.  
  
"W-Why me...?" Wil moaned, his own tears flowing freely as well by this point, though they weren't quite as joyous as Braixen's.  
  
"I'll never, ever forget this, Wil, not for as long as I live!" Braixen proclaimed, sniffling as she finally set Wil back down, but still had him encased in her beartrap of a hug. "It's... It's still gonna be tough, but... We can do it. As long as you're with me, I know we can, Wil."  
  
"A-Anything you s-say, Brai..." Wil winced, seething through his teeth in a desperate attempt not to scream in agony, his pain threshold getting dangerously close to reaching its limit. Finally, mercifully, Braixen released him from her death grip, and he promptly, unceremoniously fell to the ground in a heap without her there to prop him up.  
  
"W-Whoops... Sorry, Wil!" Braixen said, holding her hand out to help him up. As he reached out to accept it, they caught each other's gaze, and neither of them could keep themselves from breaking out into a fit of laughter, Braixen instead letting herself fall down alongside Wil, just from the sheer, overwhelming, incredulous joy that somehow, someway, they had managed to do it. They were hurt, tired, and hungry, but none of that mattered to them at that moment.  
  
They had done what they set out to do.  
  
They were an honest to goodness Detective Team.  
  
Braixen no longer had to worry endlessly over whether the kids would be fed every night. It was still going to take a lot of effort to ensure they didn't, but with Wil at her side, she was confident that they could manage it.  
  
As for Wil, he was just happy that Braixen was happy. His mind was still clouded and murky, and he still had his worries about pretty much everything, but for that moment at least, he was able to let those worries disappear, celebrating his and Braixen's good fortunes right along with her.  
  
Anny seemed to be just as overjoyed as the two of them, if not more so, and even though he wouldn't show it, she knew Krook was smiling happily on the inside just as brightly.  
  
\---  
  
Watching this all unfold from afar, the Scraggy child let out another sniffle. He wished he could join them. Perhaps if he apologized enough, they would forgive him and not want to take him to jail for being bad and drawing on that building... But he was just so confused... Confused, and heartbroken. If his own brother didn't want him around, then why would any of them? Besides, that big, scary Krookodile would probably just arrest him anyways... He was a criminal now, after all... Just like his... Not brother. He let out another, tiny sob, then... Just waited. If nothing else, he wanted to apologize to that nice lady and her friend for his brother trying to hurt them, he was sure he could convince them that he wouldn't have actually done anything bad to them... At least, he hoped he could. He couldn't do it now, though. They were happy, he would just... Ruin everything. He decided he would just keep an eye on them and wait until the time was right.  
  
Maybe by that time, his brother would be back and they could apologize together...  
  
\---  
  
 _LATER ON..._  
  
Wil lay on his back, staring up at the beautiful, star filled sky that stretched forever above him. He and Braixen were on the roof of her house, a place Braixen spent a lot of time at when she needed to relax or contemplate something, and she was only too eager to invite Wil up there to join her that night. He could see pretty quickly why she enjoyed the spot so much, as it gave one the perfect view to see everything.  
  
Down one way, Relic City twinkled in the distance, the lights that lit up the main square shining brightly, if not eerily, within the empty, darkened husk of a city that surrounded it. The sheer amount of greenery that permeated the city really did make it look like a giant Christmas tree from a distance, albeit a giant Christmas tree growing within a desolate, haunting wasteland.  
  
Then, in the opposite direction, the lake that they had visited just earlier that day stretched off into the horizon, the rooftop giving them just enough height combined with the path there naturally sloping downwards to see the entire lake in all of its shimmering, starlit glory. The reflections of the countless stars that danced upon the lake's surface was breathtaking even from that distance. Every time Wil looked out at it, he found it more and more difficult to tear his eyes away from the sight.  
  
And then, down the final pathway, the forests stretched on for as far as the eye could see, the treetops swaying gently in the breeze, as tiny little bird and bug Pokemon flew in and out of them, looking like nothing more than mere specks at that distance. Still, it was a comforting sight to Wil, as they at least brought the knowledge that there were still sane, normal Pokemon hanging around that didn't just attack each other on sight.  
  
And of course, covering this all was the endless, starry sky that hung overhead like a blanket to the sleeping world. A big, almost unnaturally large moon hung high up in it this particular night, casting an extra bit of gentle, glowing light on everything it looked upon, including Wil and Braixen.  
  
Anny and Krook had stayed true to their word, and as soon as they all made it out of Riverside Forest, their first stop was Braixen's house, both so she could deliver the good news to the kids, and so that Anny and Krook could treat each and every one of them to a delicious meal. Anny had even made sure to leave enough apples behind so that they would all have something to eat later that night as well, insisting that she and Krook had so many in their storage locker at the Seismitoad Protection Agency that they were running out of room for other things, and were only glad to be able to unload them to someone that really needed them.  
  
Once they were done there (which actually took a good long while, as the kids had taken to Anny quickly, and insisted that she tell them all about their big sis' dangerous trip about twenty times), they had headed back to the precinct, Krook hand-delivering the bound up Scrafty gang to the incredulous Chief, and despite Wil and Braixen's efforts, Anny and Krook refused to take any claim for any of the bounties, both of them insisting that the two kids had rounded them all up on their own, and also conveniently forgetting to mention the lower incidents of the mission as well. With both Krook and Anny's full support the Chief was more than happy to make Braixen and Wil officially official Detective's Guild members, albeit junior ones. Still, the sight of pure, unbridled happiness on his partner's face as the Chief congratulated them on their successful mission was one that Wil doubted he would ever be able to forget.  
  
It was a short ceremony, all in all, as Anny was quick to explain to the Chief how beaten up the two were, and he was gracious enough to let them rest for the day, instructing them to come back the next day so that they could get settled in at the precinct, name their team, and do everything else that becoming a full-fledged Detective Team entailed.  
  
Once they left the precinct, the duo split from Anny and Krook, thanking them both once again for all of their help, something they had spent the entire trip home doing to the point where Krook had (so he said, at least) gotten completely sick of it. While the older duo had invited the two to join them at the Purple Pikachu to unwind and celebrate, they both had politely declined, Braixen not wanting to keep the kids waiting any longer and Wil just wanting to get home as quickly as possible so he could rest his aching body. Still, they decided to meet back up at the precinct the next day, Anny promising to show them around and introduce them to everyone else, Krook promising to be so drunk the next day that he probably wouldn't even bother showing up.  
  
And so the duo made their way back home for a much needed night of R and R. With full bellies for once, it didn't take long for the kids to get to sleep, though they still insisted on giving Wil the hairy eyeball any chance they got, apparently choosing not to believe the parts of the story Anny relayed where Wil had shined. After putting the kids to bed, instead of heading straight to bed themselves, Braixen had invited Wil up to the rooftop, a place she insisted was a much nice place to relax and air their thoughts on the long day than her bedroom.  
  
She had been right.  
  
It had been a couple hours since they had made their way up there, and the both of them were beginning to get drowsy. Since the whole roof was made out of straw, though, they could fall asleep pretty much wherever they wanted to, giving Wil much more room so that he wouldn't 'catch any of my nasty girl cooties', as Braixen had jokingly put it. Pleasingly for her, Wil had been just as needlessly embarrassed about it as the night before, and so she had great fun teasing him throughout the night by pretending to fall asleep and 'accidentally' rolling over on top of him several times, his manic, freaked out reactions too good for her to pass up, especially after the first time. Soon enough, though, the duo had both found their own comfort spots, and both were content to just lay there staring up into the night sky, talking and laughing about their adventurous day until neither could stay awake any longer.  
  
And that's what Wil was doing. Laying in absolute comfort, not a care in the world, his friend a very comfortable ways away from him, sleeping peacefully, nowhere near close enough to 'accidentally' roll over on him again unless she did a complete barrel roll. He let out a contented sigh, as he thought of how drastically different his first two days as a Pokemon had ended. Sure, he was still aching all over, just like the first night, but that was pretty much the only thing that was the same. He wasn't starving this time, nor was he scared to death of what was to come tomorrow. In fact, not only was he not scared, he was actually looking forward to it. He couldn't wait to see what tomorrow had in store for him, because he no longer had to be afraid of everything. He would be with Braixen, so everything would be alright...  
  
...Wait...  
  
...No, there was _one other thing_ that was similar to the first night.  
  
"...Oh balls, not again!"  
  
As Wil shot to his feet, he drowsily began to search for a spot to, well, pee. However, in his half-asleep stupor, he had forgotten just where it was he had fallen asleep at, and...  
  
"FFFFFFUUUUUuuuuuu-"  
  
 _ **THUD**_  
  
"Oh Arceus, are you alright, Wil?!"  
  
...Nevermind, forget all of that, it was still the _**worst day ever**_.


End file.
